Hickory Dickory Dock
by Charlotte88
Summary: Multi-chap. Nikki's had a row with Harry, yet a case forces them to be closer than they ever have been before. In more ways than one. "Sometimes, like in that moment, she would forget why she was angry at him in the first place."
1. All Fall Down

**Chapter One: **All Fall Down

When Doctor Nikki Alexander walked into the Lyell Centre a little before eight on Friday morning, the only thought running through her head was how many hours she had until she could leave again. It wasn't that she didn't love her job, because she did, but since her argument with Harry nearly a week previously, it was taking all her effort just to get through a day.

It had been silly. A petty comment that – due to the volatile tempers they both possessed – had escalated into a full blown shouting match. He'd looked at her conclusions on a post-mortem and had disagreed with them, or interpreted them differently. But it wasn't that which bothered her; she was used to that, peer review was an important part of their job. No, it was the fact that he had gone to Leo about what he thought she should have concluded without speaking to her first.

Admittedly, it was only Leo and he wasn't one of these scary boss-types. But still, to be undermined like that… Leo, of course, had trusted her judgement once she'd had the opportunity to explain why she had come to those conclusions. Even Harry had looked sheepish. But she'd been furious with him. She still was. All week he'd been attempting to talk to her, to apologise, and all week she'd been giving him the cold shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, Nikki pushed open the door to the officers. She swore under her breath when she spotted Harry walking towards her from the other end of the room carrying a mug of coffee. Nevertheless, she continued to her desk and shrugged off her coat.

"Good morning," he smiled, slightly apprehensively. She did nothing but glance at him as she sat down. "I brought you this," he added, nodding at the steaming drink in his hand, "and I was wondering whether you wanted to join me on my case this morning?"

Making a huge fuss over switching on her computer, she said coolly, "What, so that you can shoot down any inferences I may make? No, thank you."

Harry sighed. "Come on, Nikki. How long are you going to keep this up? I've apologised a million times. Of course I trust your judgement. You're brilliant at what you do. C'mon, I could really do with a hand on this one…"

Sometimes, like that moment, she would forget why she was angry at him in the first place. It would have been so easy just to cave in to his charm and put it all behind them. But her pride wouldn't let her, and nor would the sting of hurt that she can still feel somewhere deep inside her.

"I'm busy, sorry," she said, but couldn't be any less sorry if she tried.

"You know, one day you're going to have to forgive me. You will," he said, with more hope than conviction, and began to walk away.

"Harry?" she called after him, and he spun around, anticipation etched across his face. "You can leave the coffee," she said spitefully. Harry's face fell, but did as he was told and placed the coffee on her desk.

"I've said I'm sorry. What more do you want?" he muttered. She couldn't find an answer to this. Partly because she didn't know, partly because she didn't want him to know that. Instead, she scribbled some nonsense onto a blank report cover sheet until Harry gave up and left her to it. As soon as he had disappeared from sight she leant back in her chair and ran a hand through her blonde hair. What she needed was a really complicated murder case, something that would take her mind off it all. As if on cue, Leo appeared in front of her with a slip of paper between his fingers.

"Have you and Harry not made up yet?" he asked her.

"No. Is that a case?" she replied, hastily trying to change the subject.

Leo gave her a knowing look, but handed her the paper anyway. "Death at Lakeview Care Home."

"An old person?" she groaned. "I don't mean to sound insensitive, but-"

"Not an old person," Leo interrupted quickly. "A member of staff."

"Oh." Nikki stood and put her coat and scarf on again. She gathered her case and her handbag, bade farewell to Leo, and walked down to the cold car park.

The drive to the care home wasn't a long one and the roads had emptied, post-rush hour. As she climbed out of her car upon arrival, the cold air biting on her exposed face, she was greeted by a kindly looking plain-clothes police officer. The wind was causing his light brown hair to stick up on end, and the cold had turned his cheeks pink. He looked no more than forty-five, yet there were lines of worry and confusion etched into his face. Nikki presumed this was just part of the job.

"Doctor Alexander?" he asked, rushing towards her.

"Yes," she smiled, picking up her silver forensics case and locking her car.

"Hi, I'm DCI Harlow," he said, by way of introduction.

"It's nice to meet you, Detective Harlow," she added politely as together they crossed the car park.

"Call me Josh," he told her with a grin. "Most people do. Well, that and other things – but they're far too crude for a lady's ears."

Nikki laughed, already liking the detective. He seemed genuinely invested in the case, yet just as concerned with the people that he was working with. A quality that, if she was judging by her own past experience, not a great deal of police officers as high-ranking as Harlow possessed.

"The victim is Anne Liu, twenty-four years old, she's an assistant care worker," Harlow supplied as they walked. "Her father, Huang Liu, is a rich Chinese businessman; her mother, Margaret Collier, was a lowly waitress from Camden who Mr Liu had a fling with twenty-five years ago while he was over here on a business trip. Sadly, Miss Collier died of complications from childbirth, surviving just long enough to name her child and tell the midwife who the father was. Mr Liu suddenly had a baby who he didn't know existed. He moved to the UK and they lived happily ever after. Anne's worked here for three years and they've never had a problem with her."

"What happened?" Nikki frowned.

"The receptionist found her lying at the bottom of the stairs at nine-fifteen this morning. Said there was no one around when she went to get a cup of tea, was gone no more than five minutes, then came back and found Anne lying there. Thinks she must've fell."

Looking up to observe her surroundings, Nikki was instantly struck by how imposing the large building in front of her was. Several stories high and made of Victorian red brick, it dominated the relatively gentle landscape around it. The front doors seemed to be oak – large and heavy-looking. They climbed the three stone steps into the building and entered a large reception area. There were deep red carpets covering the dark wooden floor. Straight in front of them was a vast, sweeping, mahogany staircase. At the bottom was a young woman in a purple nurses' uniform, her limbs twisted and her jet black hair falling across her face. SOCOs were already trawling the area, assembling tape to cordon it off and taking photographs. On the other side of the hall, behind the tape, a collection of onlookers had gathered. They mostly consisted of elderly men and women, looking rather excited, but at the front of the crowd was a younger man, about fifty, wearing a sharp suit and a clear air of harassment, like the death of this woman was an inconvenience for him.

Harlow had followed her gaze. "A Mr. Henry Jordan," he muttered into Nikki's ear. "Owns the place. He's not best pleased that we've disrupted his day."

"So I see," Nikki observed, raising her eyebrows as Jordan started shouting at a police officer.

Sighing, Harlow said, "I'll go sort him out. Have a little chat with him. You'll be all right to do your thing?" He gestured to the victim.

"Of course. Do you want to come to the lab at about-" she glanced at her watch, "- twelve? You can observe the post-mortem."

"Yeah, okay then. I'll see you later, Doctor Alexander," he smiled, walking away.

"It's Nikki," she called after him. Harlow looked back at her, grinned, and mock-saluted before heading over to where Henry Jordan was yelling at anybody who disagreed with him.

A SOCO appeared at Nikki's side, pulling her back to reality. He handed her a pair of coveralls. Smiling her thanks, she pulled them on over her clothes and immediately entered professional-mode.

"Can we get those front doors shut?" she called to a nearby policeman, "It's bloody freezing in here."

Bending down beside the body, Nikki wasn't quite sure what she was going to find. To all intents and purposes, it looked as if the victim had simply fallen down the stairs. She rolled the body over onto her back. The young Chinese woman's eyes were still open, empty and staring. She was a pretty girl with her whole life ahead of her. But Nikki spotted the bluish tinge to her skin, the purple bruising around her neck. This was no staircase fall, no accident. This was murder.

Taking a deep breath, she lifted the victim's arm and held it up for a moment. "Rigor mortis hasn't set in yet, which concurs with time of death being nine-fifteen this morning," she muttered. "Severe bruising around the neck, which suggests possible strangulation as cause of death."

For half an hour, Nikki swabbed and recorded and photographed the crime scene. When she was happy that there was nothing else she could gain from being there, she ordered the body to be sent to the lab and stripped off her coveralls, bundling them into a SOCOs waste bag. She was just on her way out of the door when someone sharply grabbed her wrist. A tiny, exceptionally old, woman emerged from the shadows at the side of the door. Her grip was very strong for someone so frail in appearance. There was a manic look in her eyes, which appeared sunken in her leathery face. She nodded madly at Nikki.

"I'm not surprised, they 'ated each other!" she cackled insanely. "Fought like cat and dog!"

Nikki frowned. "Are you talking about the victim? Anne?"

"Oh, she may look nice but she ain't! She's cruel! Cruel, I tell you!" There was a frenzied grin on the old woman's face.

Confused, Nikki asked, "Who's cruel?"

A screeching laugh escaped the woman's lips. It was so loud that Nikki jumped. "It's nearly time!" she shrieked. "It's nearly time!"

"Time for what?" Nikki quizzed impatiently.

"It'll be me next!" she crowed.

At this point, another care worker came rushing over. She placed her hands on the old woman's shoulders whilst apologising profusely to Nikki. "I'm so sorry," she said. "Come on, Agnes, let's get you back to bed."

The old woman released Nikki's wrist, but continued to stare madly at Nikki. As she was led away, Agnes started singing, "Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock! The clock struck one, the mouse fell down! Hickory dickory dock!"

The woman kept singing until she disappeared from sight. Slightly unnerved, Nikki rubbed her sore wrist, glanced around her and left the building, relieved to get back to the sanctity of her car.

She put the old lady, Agnes, from her mind. The day passed normally enough, the autopsy on Anne proving that she was strangled and died from asphyxiation, and then was pushed down the stairs. There was a lull in activity as Harlow left to follow up lines of enquiry and speak to Anne's father, while Nikki waited around in the lab for various results to come back. She'd managed to mostly avoid Harry, who seemed to be making her task easier by mostly avoiding her, and she once again began looking forward to leaving. That was, until her mobile phone rang a little before five.

"Doctor Alexander speaking."

_"Hi, Nikki. It's Josh Harlow. I'm at Lakeview. Um, we've got another body."_

Nikki's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

_"Yeah. An old woman this time, but it's definitely not old age."_

"How can you tell?" she asked, but she was already putting on her coat for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

_"Because she's lying underneath a grandfather clock."_

Nikki froze momentarily. She swallowed hard, then nodded. "Okay. I'll be right there."

* * *

><p><strong>Believe it or not, this story is not going to be as dark as this opening chapter may appear. I need to write some happier stuff after all the angsty one-shots that I've done lately. And there will be tons of HarryNikki ... eventually. I have a million ideas for this story, so stick with it. One of which should appear at the end of the next chapter; the next chapter that I'll try and upload later today, if I get enough reviews. ;)**

**And thank you to everyone who's wished me luck with my upcoming exams. They're getting scarily close now, but don't worry, I'm not rejecting my revision. This is just what's keeping me sane. :)**

**xxxx**


	2. Along Came a Spider

**Chapter Two: **Along Came a Spider

"She looks terrified, poor woman," Harlow observed sympathetically as Nikki bent down to examine Agnes' body. They were in the middle of an upstairs landing, where an antique grandfather clock stood. Or, had stood, until today. Another resident had found Agnes on the way back to their room and called for help, but it had been too late. The clock had been extremely heavy, and Nikki concluded would most likely have killed her instantly. The manic expression had vanished from her face now, to be replaced by a frozen picture of fear.

"I'll be able to tell more back at the lab," Nikki told Harlow. "There's a contusion on her head, right here, but I can't say whether it contributed to her death or not. I'll have to take a look at her skull…"

"Yeah, I get the picture," Harlow nodded, grimacing.

Nikki smiled slightly. "Come on. There's nothing else we can do here."

As she drove back to the lab, Nikki considered that she might ask Leo for his assistance on this case. It was getting more and more complicated by the second, and – although she didn't like to admit it – Harry's questioning of her work had really knocked her confidence. Perhaps that was why she couldn't let it go.

Upon arrival back at the Lyell Centre, Nikki headed straight into her boss's office. She briefly explained the details of the case, and then asked, "I could do with a hand to be honest, if you fancy it?"

"I can't, Nikki, I'm sorry," he told her, indicating the pile of papers that he was buried in, "I'm trying to write this thesis for British Medical Journal and I'm completely bogged down in it. Ask Harry, he's not doing anything."

Nikki paused momentarily before saying, "It's all right, I'll manage."

Leo sighed. Confused, Nikki watched as he got to his feet and stood in the doorway to his office.

"Harry?" he shouted, to which Nikki heard a muffled reply. "You're assisting on Nikki's case. Go down and prep the body for a PM. Get Zak to help."

Leo then turned back to Nikki, ignoring her indignant cry. "Work with him," he ordered her. "Sort things out. I'm sick of the pair of you moping around."

Biting back a surly retort, Nikki instead chose to leave Leo's office quietly fuming. She half-stormed down to the locker room, getting changed into her scrubs in a rush. But then she stopped, and allowed herself, for the first time since their argument, to realise just how much she missed Harry's company. Normally at this time on a Friday they'd be leaving work and heading out for a drink, or back to each other's apartments for a film and a pizza. And as much as she couldn't wait for the day to be over, Nikki didn't want to face a Friday night alone. She leant against the cool metal of her locker and closed her eyes. Maybe Leo was right. Perhaps she should just accept his apology.

"Nikki? We're ready."

Opening her eyes, Nikki was confronted by the sight of Harry stood a few meters away from her. She nodded. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern etched on his face.

"No. No I'm bloody well not okay," she muttered mutinously.

"What's wrong?" Harry probed tentatively.

"You!" she exploded. "You're what's wrong! I know that I'm good at my job. I have never doubted myself. But then _you_, you doubted me! And for some reason, having you think I was wrong is so much worse than anyone else thinking it."

She doesn't even realise that there are tears on her cheeks until Harry is stood right in front of her and is brushing them away with his thumb.

"I am _so_ sorry," he whispered, pulling her into a hug.

Just for a moment, Nikki relaxed into his embrace and took pleasure in the comfort and familiarity of his torso, the way that he can somehow make all the bad things go away. But then she remembered that she was only feeling upset because of him in the first place. That insecurity that she was feeling, that was due to him. So she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away from her.

"No! You don't just get to apologise and hug me and go back to normal! I'm not going to forget how inadequate at my job you made me feel! How _useless_ you made me feel!"

"I don't think you're useless," he countered quickly.

"Well you've got a funny way of showing it!" she spat. They glared at each other for a moment before Nikki released a long sigh. She was tired, and she didn't want to go home in a completely bad mood. "Let's just get on with it, shall we? Harlow will be waiting for us." She walked into the cutting room before Harry could stop her.

She threw herself into the autopsy, hardly leaving anything for Harry to do, proving that she was far from incompetent. It didn't take long. She concluded that cause of death was severe crush injuries – namely a massive internal bleed – from the grandfather clock, with the blow to the head probably being enough to stun her and render her momentarily defenceless on the floor. While she focused on the rest of the body, Harry established that the weapon used to strike Agnes on the head was a long, thin wooden object – a walking stick, most likely.

When the three of them were assembled in the layout room after the PM, Harry and Harlow slouched in stools against the table, Nikki presented the evidence on the boards for the benefit of the detective. Although he looked exhausted, he was hanging on to every word that she said. His brow remained furrowed the whole time.

"Did you have any luck with Henry Jordan, Josh?" Nikki asked, once they had been through all the science stuff.

"Well, he's a horribly unpleasant bloke, but he didn't do it. He was in a meeting at the time of the first murder with his pharmaceutical supplier, and then he'd knocked off early to go home and, erm, be _intimate_ with his wife at the time of the second," Harlow supplied.

"Have you spoken to all the staff?" Harry enquired.

"Yeah," the detective nodded. "None of them strike me as the murdering type…"

"You don't think it was one of the residents?" Nikki laughed.

"I don't know what to think," Harlow sighed. "We've had two murders, right? One this morning, one this afternoon. The first was strangled and pushed down the stairs, the second bashed over the head and squashed under a whopping clock. One was a twenty-something nurse, the other a senile old lady! I mean, where is the logic or the connection in this case? Are they even related?"

"Bit of a coincidence if they're not," Harry added, his arms folded across his chest.

"She spoke to me," Nikki said suddenly. "This morning. Agnes, I mean. She grabbed my wrist and she said 'she would be next'."

"Why didn't you mention this before?" asked Harry.

Nikki brushed him off. "It didn't seem relevant. But now…"

"What else did she say?" the detective said, getting out his notebook and a pen.

"Er… She said that she wasn't surprised, because they hated each other," Nikki recalled. "Said they fought like cat and dog?"

Harry frowned at her. "Did you ask her who she was talking about?"

"Of course I did, but she was a raving lunatic, Harry!" she snapped, a little harsher than intended. There was a slight awkwardness, which she quickly covered up by saying, "She also said 'she may look nice, but she isn't. She's cruel'. Then she started singing Hickory Dickory Dock, which is a bit ironic, don't you think?"

"She did?" Harlow said, surprised.

"Yeah," Nikki nodded, "Just a bit of it. 'Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock, the clock struck one, the mouse fell down'… That kind of thing."

"Did you say, '_fell_ down'?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, the line is 'the mouse _ran_ down', not fell," Harlow explained, then added, "I have kids."

"She was old, she could have just forgotten," Harry shrugged.

"Yeah, maybe…"

At that moment, Leo entered the room. He smiled at them. "I brought you all some tea," he said, placing down a cardboard tray containing three polystyrene cups. There were some murmured thanks as everyone gratefully sipped the hot liquid.

"Mind if I sit in for a little while?" Leo asked.

"Shouldn't you be going home?" Harry pointed out.

"I'm waiting for Janet to pick me up, we're going out for dinner," he said.

Nikki turned back to the evidence board. She paced the room and then stopped and looked up at a photograph of Anne Liu's face. "Why would anybody kill her? Or Agnes? What motive did they have?" she mused.

"None, as far as I can tell," Harlow said. "I don't know. I don't like that place, it creeps me out. I get this feeling like there's something that everybody knows, yet nobody is telling me. They've closed their ranks. No one's saying anything. Even the residents weren't very forthcoming with me. Ideally, I'd send a couple of coppers in undercover, but everyone's so tied up on the Jade Coulby case at the moment that no one would care about this."

Nikki had heard about the Jade Coulby case on the news. A young girl, just ten, had gone missing from her home in Ealing.

"Well, why don't you send these two in?" Leo suggested, pointing a thumb each at both Harry and Nikki.

"_What?"_ the two younger pathologists cried in unison.

"You've both got medical degrees," Leo continued. "Which is more than a lot of nursing staff have."

"That's not actually a bad idea…" Harlow said slowly. "You can be doctors who have decided to go into something less stressful than an ER."

"They can be married. Trying to start a family," Leo added, and Nikki had the suspicion that he was enjoying this far too much.

"But I can't!" she declared loudly. "People have seen me there. They'll know that we're undercover."

"Out of the staff, you only saw Jordan. And we've cleared him from the investigation. Anyway, we need him to know what's going on so that we can get you in there. And the residents weren't paying you any attention, believe me. They were more focused on the minor ruckus between Jordan and one of my PCs. They'll never remember you."

"This is ridiculous," Harry spluttered. "They'll know that we aren't married! They'll see that we don't arrive together in the mornings. Besides, neither of us have practiced medicine for years."

"You'll just have to get swotting then, won't you?" Leo smiled.

Harlow shook his head. "The marriage thing is easy. We'll give you a couple of rings, set you up in a nice flat for a while, you'll be fine. You're good friends, you can act married."

"But," Nikki looked at Harry, who was staring at her in shock, "we can't."

"Look, you're both intelligent people," Harlow said. "If anyone can do this, you two can. I'll guide you every step of the way. I'll always be at the other end of the phone if you need me. I mean, it's not like I'm sending you into a terrorist cell."

"Yeah, but…" Harry attempted. "Leo, you can't be two pathologists down."

"It will only be for a week or so, I'll be fine. We're not busy at the moment and I've got Zak to help me."

"So we're agreed then?" the detective asked.

Without waiting for Harry or Nikki to speak, Leo said, "Yes, we are."

"Right. I'll go back to the station and sort everything out then. Find you a flat, etc. Tomorrow morning, you can move into your new home. Monday you can start your new job." Harlow grinned. "See you tomorrow."

As soon as he had left, Nikki rounded on Leo. "You _cannot_ make us do this!"

"I do believe I just did."

She gaped at him, before saying, "I don't even like Harry at the moment!"

"Hello, I'm stood right here," he said indignantly from behind her.

"Shut up," she snapped, whilst glowering at Leo.

"That is the exact reason why I _am_ making you do this," Leo said firmly. "The pair of you need to get over this childish dispute you have going on, and what better way to do that than force you both to live together for a week?"

He followed Harlow's footsteps and also left. Nikki slowly turned to face Harry. Annoyingly, he didn't look as irritated by this decision as she was. She glared at him furiously. "You will not call me 'darling'," she warned him.

"Of course not. Darling," he grinned.

* * *

><p><strong>You guys are amazing. Thank you for all the reviews. You can probably guess from the end of this chapter where this is going, but like I said, I need to write some fun stuff. :) <strong>

**xxx**


	3. Like a Diamond in the Sky

**Chapter Three: **Like a Diamond in the Sky

"I cannot _believe_ I have agreed to this," Nikki grumbled as she climbed into the passenger seat of Harry's car while he put her large suitcase in the boot. On her lap she held a box of things that she couldn't bear to leave behind, even though she was only going for a week or so.

"Technically, neither of us actually agreed. Leo did," he corrected her as he sat down beside her and started the engine.

"I'm not talking to you," she muttered, staring out of the window.

"So you've said. Which is actually a contradiction," Harry pointed out, and she could hear the amusement in his voice.

"Shut up."

It was only a short drive to their new 'house', the directions to which Harlow had told Harry over the telephone earlier that morning. They arrived in a street lined with Georgian terraces, just ten minutes from Lakeview. The houses were nice, most had immaculately kept front gardens. The majority of the cars parked at the edge of the pavement were slightly more upper-market than Nikki was used to.

"Posh," she commented, forgetting her vow of silence.

They found number fifty-eight, their house, and Harry easily parked the car into their designated on-street parking space. The door of the house opened just as they had eased their suitcases out of the boot, and Harlow appeared on the front step. He smiled and stepped back to let them in, as they dragged their belongings into the hall.

Immediately, Nikki could tell that it was a nice house. There was real wood flooring, a light oak colour, lining the downstairs, with fluffy brown rugs adding warmth. The carpeted stairs were cream, and, as far as Nikki could see, so was the upstairs. They wandered into the small lounge with adjoining dining room at the far end. It was cosy, rather than cramped. A large, modern television sat in the corner, with a cream fabric sofa and matching floral armchair pointed at it. A traditional wooden coffee table sat in the middle of the room. Everything was modern, yet the classic wood made it oddly old-fashioned at the same time. Everything was already there for them – from potted plants to a large DVD collection.

Harlow gestured for Harry and Nikki to take a seat on the sofa while he sank into the armchair. In front of him was a box file, which he flipped open.

"Right," he said, rummaging inside it. "First things first, here are your keys, and a credit card for expenses like food."

He handed a bunch of house keys and a card to Harry, who slipped them into his pocket.

"Your names are Mr and Mrs Toulson. I thought you could keep your first names, there's not much point changing those as well," the detective continued. "We've scattered clues around this house – bills and things, just in case you should have any visitors. We've spoken to Henry Jordan and he's begrudgingly allowed you to work at Lakeview as senior nurses. You start on Monday at eight am."

"What will we have to do?" Nikki asked, slightly apprehensively.

"Just try and talk to the residents and the staff without giving anything away. You could also try and get a feel for the place, listen out for any gossip, that sort of thing," Harlow explained.

Harry nodded. "Is that it?"

"Basically, yes. Just report anything you find back to me. Right, I'll leave you two to get unpacked. Don't forget to go over all your medical things. The last thing I need is a lawsuit on my hands," he winked. " And don't go getting yourselves into trouble. Your maverick reputation precedes you at the Lyell Centre."

Nikki and Harry followed him to the front door. "Oh," Harlow added as he stepped outside. "I almost forgot-" he fished into his pocket and dropped something small into Nikki's hand, "-rings. One for Harry and two for you, Nikki; an engagement and a wedding ring."

"They're lovely," Nikki smiled, but there was a clenching in her stomach that wouldn't go away, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. They waved Harlow off and then retreated into the living room again.

"This is weird," Harry muttered as he pushed the ring onto his left hand. "It's like someone has just made us from scratch."

"They have," she replied, slipping her own rings on and admiring them for a moment. Both were gold, the engagement ring a spectacular diamond and the wedding one a series of smaller diamonds, with the middle one a heart shape. "I'm going to go and look at the rest of the house. Coming?"

Harry looked surprised that she wasn't biting his head off and eagerly followed her. The dining room was simple, yet elegant. A large oak table dominated the room, with a vase of lilies as a centrepiece. To the left was an open archway into the kitchen. The kitchen was very modern, with shiny white cupboard doors and wooden surfaces. A cork board was on one of the walls, upon which hung a calendar.

"They've even got 'appointments' for us on here!" Harry cried. "Look at this! Next week, 'November 18th: dentists, ten-thirty'. And then 'December 2nd: Graham and Linda's anniversary'!"

Nikki laughed before retracing her steps through the dining room and lounge to get the stairs. "I am so getting the bigger bedroom," she warned as they climbed.

Harry snorted. "Ha, not likely."

But as it turned out, they needn't have worried. Because there was only one bedroom. What they'd thought had been a second bedroom had turned out to be an office.

"You are kidding me?" Harry exclaimed, running between the rooms again as if it was all some practical joke and any minute now the desk would turn into a bed.

Nikki sighed. "I bet this is Leo's doing."

Harry stopped and looked at her. "You can have the bedroom. I'll take the sofa. It's the least I can do after everything that's happened this week."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "How very gallant of you."

If her comment irritated him, he didn't let it show. Instead he just said, "I'll go down and bring up our suitcases. We can unpack and then I'll think about putting some dinner on the go."

Once Harry had deposited her case and box of belongings in the bedroom, Nikki took a proper look around it. The bed was massive, king size at least, with a modern floral bedspread in shades of pale pink. On the other side of the room was an impressive oak wardrobe, plenty big enough for the selection of clothes that she'd brought. Besides a matching chest of drawers was a door, which Nikki pushed open to reveal a small en-suite bathroom. It was a lovely room, and a part of her couldn't help but think about Harry on the sofa. But he deserved it, she realised. Like he said, he owed her.

After she'd put all her clothes away, she perched on the edge of the bed with her cardboard box. It was basically just a collection of things that she was so used to seeing as she climbed into bed that she wasn't sure if she'd be able to sleep without them. An exceptionally old and tatty teddy bear that she'd had since she was a baby; a small wooden elephant that reminded her of Africa; a photo of her with her parents that she's meant to frame for ages; an empty decorative perfume bottle that was left to her by her nan; and, last but by no means least, a framed photograph of her, Leo and Harry. She'd taken it on the day that Leo had received his MBE. They'd gone to the pub and had a few too many, and when they'd been sitting in the pub garden watching the summer sun disappear, she'd whipped out her camera. She looked at the way Harry's arm was easily draped over her shoulders, large and genuine smiles on all three of their faces. Caught up in the moment, savouring the tranquillity. She ran her thumb across the glass, just as a voice from behind her said, "I miss you."

Nikki nearly dropped the photo in shock. She clutched it tightly as she turned to see Harry leaning on the doorway, a sad smile on his face, as if all the cares in the world rested on his shoulders.

"You see me every day," she muttered, carefully standing the photo on the bedside table.

"That's not what I meant," he told her, stepping into the room. She remained silent as he came and sat beside her. For a few minutes the two of them did nothing but sit and stare at the photograph. Then Harry's arm slowly snaked across her shoulders. He pulled her against him and, this time, she didn't resist. Instead, she simply let her head fall against him and allowed him to hold her. They stayed like that for a while, with Harry's thumb stroking the top of her arm and her arms wrapped around his stomach. They didn't speak; they didn't need to.

It wasn't until Harry's stomach rumbled loudly that he said, "We need to go food shopping, there isn't anything here."

She inhaled deeply and sat up, nodding.

Harry looked uncertain for a moment. "Are we good?"

A gentle smile graced her lips. "Of course we're good."

"Right," he grinned, clearly relieved, "Now let's go grace Tesco with our presence."

"This is so bloody domestic," Harry grumbled as he slouched over a trolley. Nikki grinned and picked up a bottle of fabric conditioner.

"We're nearly done now," she pointed out, "we've only got to get washing powder, toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, tissues – oh, and we haven't done the freezer aisles yet, I didn't want everything defrosting."

Harry sighed laboriously. "I never do a weekly shop like this. Usually I just get bits when I need them."

"Mm. I know you do," she said with an air of disdain, adding some washing powder to their rather full trolley.

"You're not holding back, are you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as she picked out some of the most expensive products.

"They gave us a card for expenses," she shrugged.

Harry just laughed. They quickly finished the rest of their shopping and were soon at the tills, packing carrier bags as their items were passed down to them.

"Ooh, do you know what we didn't get?" Nikki asked suddenly. "Pesto. I like pesto."

"Forget the bloody pesto. I'm hungry, I want to get home," Harry told her, packing bags that Nikki was then repacking so that things at the bottom wouldn't get squashed.

"But I can't put it on my pizza otherwise," she whined. "I like pesto on pizza."

Sighing, Harry said, "I will order you extra pesto when I ring the pizza place."

"Normally you say that's too expensive," she said.

Carefully placing some wine in the trolley, Harry said, "I will pay you to shut up about the pesto."

The woman who was serving them – a large, black lady – chuckled and smiled at them. "How long have you two been together?" she asked.

A flush crept across Nikki's cheeks. She thought back to what they'd agreed earlier in the day. "We've been married just over a year."

"Oh, newlyweds!" she grinned. "Well, congratulations."

"Thank you," Harry said, as he paid for the shopping using the credit card Harlow had given them.

As they were on their way out of the supermarket, Nikki linked her arm through Harry's, who was pushing the trolley. She held her left hand out and looked at the rings on her fingers with a smile. "My husband has good taste."

Harry groaned. "I am not going to get used to this."

Giggling, Nikki leant her head on the top of his arm as he laughed and they made their way to car. Maybe, just maybe, this week wouldn't be so bad after all.

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for all your lovely comments. I'm really enjoying writing this at the moment. And I had to have them make up, it's too difficult to write them all angsty. ;)<strong>

**Love  
>xxx <strong>


	4. Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill

**Chapter Four: **Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill

"I know this!" Nikki cried, her hands in her hair as she desperately tried to think.

"Clearly you don't," Harry grinned from where he was sitting cross-legged on the sofa.

Nikki resisted the urge to look at the revision cards on the coffee table in front of where she was kneeling on the rug. "Yes I do! Just give me a minute!"

"Thirty seconds left," Harry warned.

"Ah! Oh!" Her eyes were wide. "Oh! It's… it's… Stenosis! Hardening of the valves; stenosis!" She grinned triumphantly.

Harry laughed and threw her a chocolate in a brightly coloured wrapper. "My turn."

Nikki plucked a revision card from the table. "Okay. The superior and inferior vena cava flow into the - what?"

"Oh, that's so easy!" Harry scoffed. "The right atrium!"

"Correct," Nikki grudgingly admitted as Harry helped himself to a chocolate. "That's not actually fair, the heart is your thing, not mine."

"Stop trying to make excuses," he winked. "All right then, let's move on from cardiac. Level out the playing field."

All day they'd been revising their medicine in preparation for their new 'jobs' the next morning. It was now reasonably late in the evening, and although Nikki was feeling fairly confident, she couldn't help being slightly nervous at the prospect of using her knowledge on live patients.

As if Harry could tell what she was thinking, he said, "It'll be all right, you know. We're going into a care home, not a hospital."

"I know. It's just a bit nerve-racking."

"Well let's keep practicing then," he smiled. Uncrossing his legs, he stretched across the table to pick up a book, groaning in pain as he did so.

"Your back?" she frowned.

"It was sleeping on the sofa last night," he shrugged. "It's all right, just a bit stiff."

Nikki felt instantly bad, noticing that the sofa was probably a good foot shorter than Harry was, despite his protests that he was okay.

"You can sleep in the bed tonight," she suggested quietly.

He smiled. "Thanks, but I'm not letting you have the sofa."

She blushed. "No, I meant… With me. The sofa will kill your back if you spend much longer on it."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, we've shared everything else in the past, why not a bed? Platonically, of course."

He quirked an eyebrow at her, so she added, "What, scared you won't be able to resist temptation?"

He snorted. "No, I'm scared you won't."

"You don't have to worry about me," she smirked. "Now are we revising or not?"

He grinned and flicked through the book he had picked up until he stopped on a page, which he studied intently for a moment. "Okay then… This is a bit more applicable to where we're going: what gene location is responsible for dementias?"

Nikki screwed up her eyes and her nose wrinkled in concentration for a moment before she said, "APOE," and looked up again. Harry was watching her, a small smile on his face.

"What?" she asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"Nothing," he laughed. "Just, you're cute when you're thinking."

"Oh shut up," she scoffed, although there was a smile playing on her lips. "Was I right or not?"

"Yes, you were," he said, throwing her a chocolate. "But you get a bonus sweet if you can tell me what it stands for."

"Apolioprotein E," she said automatically, "I knew it, I just didn't want to show off."

"Ha, if you say so," he mocked, but picked her out another chocolate. "God, this is bringing back painful memories of my med school days."

"Blimey, I'm surprised you can remember that far back," she teased, earning herself a withering glare.

"You're one to talk."

She ignored this and sighed as she got to her feet. "I'm going to bed," she told him. "We've pretty much covered everything and I'm exhausted. Are you – are you coming?"

"Yeah, in a minute. I'll just put this away."

Once in the bedroom, Nikki suddenly felt inexplicably nervous. Which was stupid. Her and Harry were best friends, they shouldn't feel awkward about sleeping in the same bed. It was no different to the many times that they'd sat curled up on the sofa together, or she'd cried in his arms. Except it was.

She quickly got changed into her pyjamas, then realised that they probably weren't the most sensible pair she could have brought. The long bottoms were all right, it was the thin vest top that caused problems. Besides it being rather chilly, it also didn't leave very much to the imagination. But she hadn't thought about that when she'd packed it, as she'd assumed that she and Harry wouldn't even be sharing a bedroom, let alone a bed. Nevertheless, there wasn't much that she could do about it. She had a rummage through the wardrobe to see if she'd packed a spare t-shirt – attempting to ignore how normal it felt to have Harry's clothes hanging besides hers – but she hadn't. So she brushed her teeth and climbed into bed, trying not to shiver too much.

Wrapping the duvet tightly around herself, it wasn't long until she heard the door creak open.

"Are you still awake?" Harry whispered into the darkness.

"Yeah," she replied, and he switched on the lamp.

"Good," he smiled. "Do you mind if I leave that on while I go and use the bathroom?"

She shook her head and he disappeared, re-emerging a few minutes later wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of navy jogging bottoms. She sat up slightly against the headboard. "Is that what you sleep in?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he retorted. "You do realise that it's minus a hundred degrees outside."

"Don't I know it, I'm freezing; I've got goosebumps. But I didn't bring anything else," she confessed.

Harry tutted at her before crossing to the chest of drawers. He pulled something out of them and threw it to Nikki. "Here, wear this," he instructed.

She held it up and saw a grey sweatshirt with a sporty motif on the front.

"It will stop you dying of hypothermia," he added, climbing into bed beside her. Nikki pulled the jumper over her head, instantly feeling warmer.

"Thank you," she smiled, although he had already turned off the lamp and had his back to her anyway.

"You're welcome," he muttered sleepily.

Snuggling down under the covers, Nikki couldn't help but keep smiling. It was such a big bed that she and Harry were hardly close enough for it to be awkward, and instead she realised it was actually nice not to feel so alone. It was never pleasant, sleeping in a bed other than your own, and having someone as familiar as Harry there made it all a little easier.

The first thing Nikki noticed the next morning was that she was so no longer cold. The second thing she realised was that the fact that she was no longer cold was probably due to the very warm, very solid, body that she was pressed against. She cracked open an eye and saw Harry's chest right in front of her. One of her arms was slung across his stomach and she was pretty sure that his were around her waist. Carefully, she slowly lifted her head to look up at him. He was wide awake.

"Crap," she said, because it was the first thing that came into her head. Now she couldn't escape.

He chuckled, the vibrations of which Nikki felt in the pit of her stomach.

"Good morning to you, too," he smiled.

"See, this is why I made you sleep on the sofa," she grumbled, but neither of them were making any effort to move. "What time is it?"

"Just gone six," he whispered. "We should be getting up."

Nikki groaned. She rolled off of Harry and buried her head under her pillow. "I don't want to go to our stupid new job," she complained, her voice muffled.

Squeezing her shoulder reassuringly, Harry said, "I'll go and get us some breakfast. Come down in five minutes."

He left the bedroom and Nikki emerged from under the pillow. She rolled onto her back and bit her lip as she stared up at the dark ceiling. The bed felt oddly cold now that Harry wasn't in it. With a sigh, she swung her legs over until her toes touched the carpet and then stood up. Every particle of her body screamed at the lack of duvet, but she continued on downstairs.

The smell of coffee instantly hit her as Nikki entered the kitchen, and she realise just how handy it was having Harry around to do things like that for her, as selfish as that may be.

Harry turned as she entered, stopping in his quest to find where she'd unpacked the serials, and just stared at her for a moment.

"What?" she asked, glancing down at his jumper that she was still wearing, the sleeves pulled up slightly. It was far too big, and hardly the most beautiful thing in the world. Added to her messy bed hair, she couldn't understand what he'd be staring at.

"Nothing," he smiled, disappearing behind the fridge.

"You have to stop doing that," she scolded, but there was a smile playing on her lips.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Harry asked, and she didn't miss the subtle change of topic.

"Whatever. I'm too nervous to eat," she told him.

"You need to eat something. We've got a busy day. I'll make you some toast and butter."

She smiled a thank you, reaching for one of the two mugs of coffee perched on the side and taking it through to the dining room table. Only a few minutes later Harry appeared, balancing two plates of toast and his own mug of coffee.

"Stems from my teenage years spent waiting on people in a local restaurant," he informed her with a smile, placing her toast in front of her.

"Thank you."

She ate in silence but could feel Harry's eyes on her, waiting for her to say something. Eventually she said slowly, "What if people guess that we're not married?"

"They won't. We'll just have to put on a very good show."

"All right then, what if someone asks us a question that we haven't prepared for?" she countered.

"You're worrying over nothing," he told her. "There's nothing anyone can ask us that we don't know about each other, you know there isn't."

He placed his hand over hers on the table, and the glint of the rings on her finger caught her eye.

"Okay," she said, forcing a smile onto her face.

An hour later and Nikki was feeling a lot more nervous.

"I don't want to get out," she grumbled as Harry swiftly pulled the car into a parking spot at the care home and killed the engine. "It's warm in here. There are no old people to kill with my rusty medical knowledge."

"How many times, we're not going to be performing procedures," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Come on."

They climbed out into the bitterly cold air. Once again, Nikki gazed up at the imposing building. As they slowly crossed the car park, Harry held out his hand to her. "Don't forget we're married," he pointed out.

From the grip he had on her hand, and the reassurance that she found clinging onto his, something told her that the small act of comfort wasn't entirely for show.

They crossed the threshold of the heavy oak doors and stepped into the bustling foyer, a lot busier than the last time Nikki had been here. On the other side of the hall, Henry Jordan emerged from a door.

"Mr and Mrs Toulson!" he cried, his arms outstretched. His voice was full of false friendliness, yet he didn't give anything away about who they really were. Harry and Nikki glanced at each other nervously as Jordan approached. He gave them a cold smile. "Welcome to Lakeview!"

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><p><strong>I promise we'll get back to the case in the next chapter! Less of the clichéd HarryNikki stuff. ;)**

**Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews! xxxx**


	5. Kissed the Girl and Made Her Cry

**Chapter Five: **Kissed the Girl and Made Her Cry

Nikki and Harry were swiftly ushered into Jordan's office, where they were told to sit. After forced pleasantries had been made, Jordan wasted no time in getting down to business. He carried the air of a man who was constantly wishing he was somewhere else; always impatient and short with the few people who did manage to grab his attention. He clearly wasn't remotely interested in the personal lives of his staff, seemingly more concerned with making sure that they were doing their jobs efficiently to maintain the home's excellent reputation. A thorough run-through of the health and safety manual, as well as a step-by-step guide to the numerous protocols in operation, was recited to Harry and Nikki in a monotonous voice.

Eventually, Jordan snapped all of the various folders shut. He leant forward on his desk, his chin resting on his fingertips, and told them what was expected of them, warned them what would happen if they screwed up, asked them if they even knew what they were doing, and then begrudgingly allowed them to get on with it. He ordered his receptionist to take them to the staff room, where they would be given uniforms and copies of the rota.

As they walked down wood-panelled corridor, Nikki swallowed nervously. Part of her was terrified that the other members of staff would be able to see right through them. The other part of her was terrified that they would make a mistake. When they entered the large, airy staff room, the hubbub of talking stopped immediately.

"This is Nikki and Harry Toulson," the receptionist introduced to the fifteen or so staff who were in the room. "Make them feel welcome. Kelly, could you please sort them out with uniforms, etc.?"

A young nurse with dark blonde hair and a kindly face approached them. "Hi, I'm Kelly," she smiled, as the noise level in the room rose again. As far as Nikki could tell, about half of the people in there were getting ready to go home, and the other half were just beginning their day.

"I'm Harry," came a voice from beside Nikki, forcing her to focus. "This is Nikki. But, you already knew that."

Nikki forced a smile onto her face.

Kelly seemed to sense her mood because she said, "There's no need to be nervous. Don't worry, you'll soon settle in."

She led them over to a long row of lockers and handed Nikki a key to number eighteen and Harry a key to number twenty-five. "In the cupboard over there you'll find your uniforms," she informed them. "You need a pair of scrub trousers in pale lilac and the shirt style scrub top. The women's are on the left-hand side. They're obviously more fitted than the men's."

Harry and Nikki nodded apprehensively, well aware that whatever they had to wear would be a stark contrast to the loose white scrubs and wellington boots that they were used to.

"Did you bring any other shoes?" Kelly asked Nikki, glancing down at Nikki's heels.

"No, I didn't even think about that," she replied, internally scolding herself.

"You'd be far better off wearing something flat. What size are your feet?"

"About five and a half to six," Nikki told her.

"Well you can borrow a pair of my Converse," Kelly smiled, opening her own locker and extracting the black and white trainers. "I always keep a spare pair around, just in case."

"Thank you so much."

"It's no trouble. Now, let me show you the timetable." The three of them crossed the room to a large piece of A3 paper that was pinned to a notice board. Around them, people slowly began to leave, until it was just the Nikki, Harry and Kelly left in the room. "Your shift starts in-" Kelly glanced at her watch, "-well, five minutes ago really, and it lasts until six this evening. You get one hour for lunch, from one-thirty until two-thirty. Obviously, it has to be after the residents have eaten."

"But what do we have to do in between?" Harry asked with a weak smile.

"You're newbies, so you should go in the lounge. At least for this morning. Just get to know the residents a bit, help them with anything they need, be prepared to make a lot of tea and play a lot of Scrabble."

"That's it?" Nikki asked, surprised.

"We're not going to throw you in at the deep end on your first day," Kelly smiled. "I'd better go. There's a map of the building around the corner near the lockers. Once you're changed and everything, go to the lounge. Someone there will look after you."

They both thanked Kelly. She smiled at them and left, closely the door sharply behind her. As soon as she was gone, Nikki leant against the wall and released a long breath.

"This is going to be a long day," she grimaced.

"Well, she was nice enough, wasn't she?" Harry shrugged. "It doesn't sound like we have to do anything too strenuous."

"You wait," she warned. "I bet you're not still saying that come lunch time."

They hastily pulled on the scrubs, which Nikki had to admit were far more flattering than her usual ones, although the same couldn't be said for Harry.

"You look weird," she giggled, admiring the way the buttons went diagonally down Harry's torso and the small collar that stood on end.

"Shut up," he told her, crossing to the map of the building.

"Are you ready for this?" Nikki asked, her smile fading.

"Not really," he confessed, "but we'll be fine."

"People are going to know that we're not married," she said quietly, shaking her head.

"Stop worrying about that!" he exclaimed, half-exasperated and half-amused. "Out of everything, that's the last thing we need to focus on."

"They'll work it out though," she warned him.

Harry sighed and observed her for a moment, before swooping down and pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth. His lips lingered for longer than was strictly necessary. Nikki took a sharp intake of breath, letting her eyes flutter closed. Then, it was over. He then took her hand, gripped it tightly, and led her from the room. Nikki, slightly stunned, could do nothing but follow him obediently.

The lounge was on the other side of the building. It took them a little over five minutes to get there, as they walked along the impressive, antique-style corridors.

"You can tell this is a private place and not NHS," Harry muttered into her ear.

When they arrived in the lounge they discovered that most of the residents were convened there, all sitting in squashy armchairs or gathered around tables talking to others. Some were playing board games, some were reading, some watching the television, and in the corner one woman was painting at an easel.

On the other side of the room, a nurse glanced at them. He looked about mid-forties, with greying hair and a lined face. He was on the large side, the uniform doing him no favours at all. But his startlingly blue eyes were full of kindness. He said something to the elderly man that he'd been tending to and then crossed the room to where Harry and Nikki were stood.

"First day?" he asked them with a smile. They nodded apprehensively. "Hi. I'm Michael, but call me Mike."

"Harry Toulson," Harry said. "This is my wife, Nikki."

Never, Nikki considered, would she get used to him saying that.

"It's nice to meet you both," Mike smiled. "Let me just introduce you to the residents. Hey, guys! This is Harry and Nikki. It's their first day on the job, so play nice! No hazing just yet, all right?"

The residents all laughed, while one man in the corner with a hearing aid in each ear frowned and snapped, "What'd he say?"

"He said you won't be getting any lunch later, Jim," an woman with tightly-permed white hair said loudly to Jim, rolling her eyes in exasperation. Jim just sulkily returned to his newspaper.

"Jim and Mary," Mike told them quietly as the residents turned back to what they were doing. "Our very own Jack and Vera. They've been married over sixty years."

"How sweet," Nikki smiled.

"Yeah, their bickering lights up my day," Mike joked. "Right. How about you just spend a couple of hours getting to know the residents? Over there through that door is a kitchenette type-thing, where you can make them – or yourself – a cup of tea or coffee. It's also the room that you can hide in if you need a break. Any problems, just find me or one of the other staff. I'll be around all day."

"Thanks," Harry and Nikki said in unison.

"No problem. Oh, and a word of advice: Don't get them started on your marriage. They will never shut up. The old biddies are hopeless romantics," he said affectionately.

An hour later and Nikki was sitting next to Edie, a frail eighty-five year old with thinning grey hair who was talking in great length about her grandchildren.

"This is Tommy," she said brightly, showing Nikki a photograph. "He's three there but he's nearly five now. And his sister is Lucy. She's nine. My little Lucy-Lou. They come and visit me every Sunday, you know."

"That's lovely, Edie," Nikki said. From across the other side of the room, Harry caught her eye and grinned at her. She smiled back, a look that clearly didn't go unnoticed by the old woman sitting beside her.

"How long have you two been together?" Edie asked.

"We've been married just over a year," Nikki recited.

"Oh, how lovely! Well, dear, what's he like?"

Smiling, Nikki said, "He's wonderful. Kind, caring, considerate. He always knows when there's something wrong with me, and exactly how to make whatever the problem is go away. He can read me like a book; knows me inside-out. He's got a brilliant sense of humour. It's like my world is just that little bit brighter when he's around."

Nikki was surprised to see a tear in Edie's eye. "My John was like that," the elderly woman said sadly. Taking Edie's liver-spotted, wrinkled, old hand in her own smooth, young one, Nikki squeezed it tightly. Edie smiled, wiped the tear away from her cheek and said, "So, what's he like in the bedroom department?"

"Edie!" Nikki exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Oh, come on, Nikki," Edie tutted. "Live a little. It's supposed to be me that's the prude, not you."

Nikki looked across the room at Harry, who was helping a weak-looking man with what appeared to be Parkinson's disease safely drink a cup of tea.

"He's … breathtaking," she whispered.

The rest of the day had passed fairly uneventfully and by seven o'clock that evening Nikki was kicking off her heels in the hall of their house. Yawning, she walked into the kitchen where Harry had immediately gone to get dinner on the go.

"I'm exhausted," she groaned, wrapping her cardigan tightly around her to ward off the cold. "Yet I swear we haven't really done much all day."

"We didn't really find anything out about the investigation, did we?" Harry asked. "In fact, I almost forgot that that was why we were there."

"Yeah, but it will take time for the staff especially to trust us, won't it? We'll try again tomorrow," she smiled, watching the melodic rhythm of Harry chopping up a tomato. "What are we having?"

"Spaghetti Bolognese."

Nikki raised her eyebrows. "When did you learn to cook?"

He threw her a withering glare. "Well, unlike you, I prefer not to live off of takeaways."

"Shut up. I can cook," she said defensively.

Harry snorted. "Remember that cheesecake that you brought to Leo's dinner last year? The one that gave us all food poisoning because the cream cheese you'd used was weeks past its sell-by date?"

She tutted. "It was only a very mild case."

"Oh, well that doesn't matter then," Harry laughed.

Giggling, she said, "Just be quiet and cook your Bolognese."

Nikki couldn't sleep. She'd tried, goodness knows she'd tried, but as soon as she closed her eyes and her mind began to wander, images of home, of Leo, of work, had plagued her.

It was just gone two in the morning. She knew that she needed sleep if she was going to be at all productive the next day, but there wasn't much she could do. Glancing at Harry, who was fast asleep with his back to her, Nikki couldn't stop the tear which slipped from her eye. He seemed to be handling it all so well. This undercover thing.

Harry. She thought back to her conversation with Edie earlier in the day. She'd been so caught up in her little pretend world that she'd almost forgotten that she and Harry weren't actually married. It was hard to imagine that shortly this would all come to an end and she'd go back to her single life in her lonely apartment.

She sat up in bed, her knees hugged close to her chest, and did nothing but listen to the ticking of the clock through the darkness. She wiped her wet cheeks with the cuff of Harry's jumper that she had taken a liking to wearing, not missing the comforting smell of his fabric conditioner.

"Nikki?"

Startled, Nikki looked behind her to see Harry frowning at her blearily.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she whispered.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"Nothing, go back to sleep."

"As if," he scoffed, sitting up beside her. "Tell me."

She half-shrugged, a fresh wave of tears hitting her. "I just miss Leo. And work. And my apartment and-"

"You're homesick," Harry finished for her and she nodded.

"Aren't you?"

"Of course I am. But, you know, my bachelor lifestyle isn't everything it's cracked up to be. I quite like being here with, well, with you. And yes, I do miss Leo and the lab - but this isn't permanent. We'll be back there in a few days and everything will go back to normal," he reasoned with her.

Nikki leant against him so that he could put an arm around her shoulders. He held her tight, and for the first time that night she felt her eyelids beginning to droop. Harry obviously noticed, because he tugged her backwards until they collapsed against the pillows, still with their arms around each other.

"I'm really glad you're here, Harry," she mumbled sleepily. She wasn't even sure what she meant by it - glad he was here in the bed? Glad he was part of this whole undercover world with her? Glad he was part of her life? Probably all of the above, she surmised.

"I'm glad you're here too," he whispered, pressing a small kiss to the top of her head.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's taken me a little longer to upload this chapter, college has been insane. It's a bit of a messy chapter, I know, but I didn't want to drag out their first day too much. <strong>

**Let me know what you think! :)**

**xxxx**


	6. Eleven, Twelve, Dig and Delve

**Chapter Six: **Eleven, Twelve, Dig and Delve

For the second morning in a row, Nikki woke up in Harry's arms. This time, however, he was still fast asleep. She glanced at the clock on the wall; it was only just five-thirty. Content with the feeling that she didn't have to get up for at least another half an hour, she was perfectly happy just to lie there for a while. Her head was resting on Harry's chest, which was rising and falling slowly as he breathed deeply. One of his hands was tangled in her hair, the other on her waist. Never before had Nikki woken up feeling so safe, so secure. Like nothing in the world could hurt her.

She felt him stir so hastily closed her eyes and feigned sleep, knowing that if they were both awake then the happy bubble would pop. She listened as Harry inhaled slowly and then yawned. Her head moved slightly on his chest as he shifted and looked down at her, and she could have sworn that she heard him make a noise of amusement in the back of his throat. A second later and the hand that had been in her hair disappeared. She tried to ignore the pang of disappointment, but needn't have worried as the next second his fingers traced along her hairline, from her forehead to her temple. It was difficult trying to remain 'asleep' and not smile as he gently stroked her hair. Something deep inside of her was telling Nikki that she shouldn't be feeling like that, that Harry was just her best friend and nothing more – but she ignored it. She knew that, and all she was feeling was comfort. That was all.

Deciding that it was probably time she woke up, Nikki took a deep breath and groaned. From above her, Harry chuckled. "Good morning, sleepyhead."

"If you say so," she muttered.

"I do, and you know how I'm always right," he grinned.

"We should be getting up," she said, slightly regretfully. Placing a hand on his stomach, she pushed herself into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"I'm going to have a shower," he told her, getting to his feet, "so you'd best put the hot water on if you plan on having one too."

Shaking her head, she said, "I had a bath last night, didn't I? I thought I'd make us breakfast this morning, seeing as you've been doing all the cooking lately. Omelette?"

Raising his eyebrows, Harry said, "Blimey. I'd love one. Just don't go giving us both food poisoning again."

"Shut up, that was one time!" she cried defensively. "Go and have your shower."

Laughing, Harry disappeared into the en-suite bathroom. Nikki remained where she was until she heard the sound of running water, then climbed out of bed. She padded downstairs and into the kitchen, where the first and foremost job was to get the coffee machine whirring.

As she waited for her espresso, Nikki leant on the counter and exhaled deeply. She remained lost in thought for a moment, before realising that she was meant to be cooking breakfast. Pushing herself upright, she crossed to the fridge and cursed under her breath when she discovered that they were all out of eggs. They'd obviously forgotten to buy them on their shopping trip. Sighing, she went back upstairs. No longer could she hear the sound of the shower, so tentatively she knocked on the bedroom door, which was still ajar. When she didn't get a response she pushed it open, relieved to see that Harry wasn't in there. The last thing she needed was to catch him getting changed.

Striding across to the bathroom door, she knocked again. "Harry? We haven't got any eggs, so-"

The door was suddenly pulled open, revealing a dripping wet Harry wearing nothing other than a towel. "Sorry, Nikki, did you say something?"

It took a moment for her brain to work the rest of her body. She didn't know why it was so weird; she'd seen him shirtless before, in the changing rooms at work. That was often after a shower. But somehow, with the whole domesticity involved in the situation and the fact that they were in a bedroom, and with thoughts of waking up that morning still on her mind, Nikki felt herself going bright red. Harry grinned knowingly.

"I, erm… I was – there are no eggs. Do you … do you want cereal?" she asked incoherently, internally hating herself, and him, for her complete lack of control over words.

"Cereal sounds good," he smiled. When Nikki was still stood there, unable to move, one minute later, he added, "Er, I'm going to get dressed now."

"Oh," she said, coming to her senses. "Yes. Right. Well, I'll go and get breakfast then."

As soon as she'd left the room she leant against the wall and shook her head, grimacing as she realised just how pathetic she must have sounded. Since when did she fall to pieces like that? Frustrated with herself, she returned to the kitchen and grabbed the first box of cereal she could get her hands on.

**. . .  
>. .<strong>

By three o'clock that afternoon, Nikki had begun to fall into a routine at Lakeview. She was starting to get to know the residents and earn their trust. The majority of them were absolutely lovely, albeit desperate to know about Harry and Nikki's marriage.

"They're terrible gossips," Harry muttered to her as they prepared several cups of tea in the kitchenette. "One of them won't stop asking when we're going to have kids."

A giggle escaped Nikki's lips. "Would that be Edie?"

"Yeah, I think that's her name. Why?"

"She's taken a shine to us," she explained with a grin. "But never mind that, have you actually found anything out yet?"

Harry sighed. "Alfred told me that there's a care worker called Caroline that no one likes. But Alf's a little … confused, bless him, so he may not be entirely reliable."

Slapping him on the arm, Nikki said, "Don't be horrible. Just because he's old that doesn't mean we can't trust him."

"There isn't a Caroline on the staff rota, I looked," he countered quickly.

"Oh."

"Yes, exactly. Apologise for slapping me," he pouted.

"Ha, not likely," she quipped, smiling as she picked up the tray of cups.

"But I haven't done anything!" he protested.

"No, but I'm sure you will do," she said, walking away from him. It was visiting hours and the lounge was full of extra people, both residents who normally preferred to remain in their rooms and the family members visiting them. Nikki provided people with tea and biscuits, Harry doing the same on the other side of room. Approaching Edie, who Nikki had warmed to greatly, she could see a young woman with dark, short hair sitting with her.

"Hi, Edie," Nikki smiled. "Would you like some tea?"

Before Edie had even had a chance to answer, the woman with her had sprung to her feet and was glaring suspiciously at Nikki.

"Who's this?" she asked abruptly.

"Nurse Toulson," Edie said, rolling her eyes. "She's new, Julie. For goodness sake, sit down."

Julie, who Nikki presumed was Edie's daughter, slowly sunk back into her chair.

"It's nice to meet you," Nikki said apprehensively. "I've heard a lot about you."

"If you have time to sit around and have nice little chats with my mother, then you clearly can't be doing your job properly," Julie pointed out malevolently.

"Julie! Stop being so rude," Edie scolded. "I'm sorry," she added, looking up at Nikki, "but my daughter is under the delusion that I'm being mistreated."

"Mother! You were nearly poisoned by one of these incompetent staff!" Julie burst out. Nikki's eyes widened in shock, as Edie sighed impatiently.

"It was salt in my coffee instead of sugar. Hardly arsenic," she said for Nikki's benefit. "A simple mistake, that's all."

"Bullied by the other residents!" her daughter continued.

To Nikki's surprise, Edie laughed at this. "It was a silly little argument over a gentleman," she mock-whispered with a wink in Nikki's direction.

"Which gentleman?" Nikki laughed.

The elderly woman jerked her thumb over her shoulder at a man sat at the table behind them playing dominoes with a couple of other residents. It was Jack; a right charmer and full of charisma, even in his old age. He was a hit amongst the female residents. Even the staff liked him.

"Anyway," Edie continued. "Agnes and I weren't going to let a man come between us. We apologised and all was well."

Nikki tried to remain casual as she probed, "Agnes?"

"Yes, bless her soul, you wouldn't know her, dear," Edie said, shaking her head. "Died just a couple of days before you started working here. One of the disadvantages of old age, watching your friends die."

"I've heard about her from the staff," Nikki lied. "But I was under the impression that she was a bit-"

"Loony?" Edie interrupted with a smile. "She was at the end. Two months before she died she was trying to get a bit of action with Jack-"

"Mother!"

"-and then suddenly she was raving mad. It happens like that sometimes."

Nodding thoughtfully, Nikki said, "I suppose."

Julie cleared her throat. "Excuse me, nurse, but seeing as you're new here you might want to spend more time trying to impress your peers rather than gossip about them," she said with a condescending smirk.

Nikki forced a smile onto her face. "I'll pop over and check on you later, Edie," she said to the elderly woman sat in front of her, her smile now genuine.

"Certainly, dear," Edie nodded, and then added with a wink, "Give Harry a kiss from me."

Laughing, Nikki walked away. Her mind began to stray to what Edie had told her about Agnes. She was so lost in thought about it all that she didn't notice one of the other carers, Holly, until it was too late and they'd bumped into each other.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Holly apologised profusely. A young, twenty-something single mother with a kindly persona and more consideration than anyone, Nikki had instantly taken a liking to Holly.

"It's my fault," she smiled. "I should have been paying more attention to where I was going."

"Are you okay?" Holly asked concernedly.

"Yeah. I was just with Edie," Nikki said, and found that she didn't have to say anything more judging by the understanding on Holly's face.

"You met her daughter, in other words," the young nurse said. "She's a nightmare, she is."

"I thought she might be."

They both glanced across the room at where Edie and Julie were sitting. "One day she'll come in and bring a batch of homemade biscuits, the next she'll start stropping around claiming that we're trying to kill Edie."

"Really?" Nikki frowned.

Holly nodded, then sighed. "She just loves her mother, that's all. We've had plenty of family members like her in the past."

**. . .  
>. .<strong>

When it was time for her break later that afternoon, Nikki headed straight for the staff room, craving some peace and quiet. Harry was already there when she arrived, but apart from that it was deserted.

"Hey you," he smiled, looking genuinely pleased to see her. They'd both been so busy that they'd hardly had a chance to exchange two words.

"How's your day been?" she asked him, taking an apple from her locker.

"Hectic," he said. "Yours?"

"Quite interesting, actually," she told him. "I'll fill you in when we get home though, not here."

He nodded in understanding, then said, "Oh, I've changed our shift slightly tomorrow. I said we would do one in the afternoon until ten."

Nikki winced. "Nine hours. And it's well into the night."

"Yeah, but it's not as many as we're doing at the moment. It's only for tomorrow. I just thought that we should meet the staff who are on the night shift," he explained. "And we can have a meeting with Harlow in the morning. There might be time to pop by the lab and visit Leo as well."

A genuine smile crept across her face at the prospect of seeing Leo again. Crossing to the rota that was on the wall, Nikki looked at the names of those who'd they be working with the following evening. One in particularly caught her eye. "Caz? Harry! You idiot!"

"Now what have I done?" he asked indignantly.

"'There isn't a Caroline on the staff rota, I looked'," she mimicked his words from earlier. "What do you think Caz is short for, Nigel?"

"So Caroline does exist?"

"Stop trying to brush past your magnificent display of ignorance," she said, but couldn't help smiling.

"Well, it's a good job we're going to be working with her tomorrow night then, isn't it?" he grinned at her.

* * *

><p><strong>Back to the case a bit more now. And yes, some Leo in the next chapter. I've missed him too much. ;)<strong>

**Thank you all so much for the reviews! Tons of hugs coming your way. **

**xxx**


	7. The Cow Jumped Over the Moon

**Chapter Seven: **The Cow Jumped Over the Moon

"It's weird though, isn't it?" Nikki asked Harry as they drove to the Lyell Centre, where they were meeting Harlow.

"What is?"

"Agnes' sudden dementia."

"Nikki, she was ninety-something. It's a miracle she didn't get it sooner," Harry reasoned, slowing down at a set of traffic lights and turning to give her a reassuring smile.

"Yes, but the onset of the symptoms was so acute, according to Edie. One minute she was fine, and then she wasn't," she persisted.

"It's horrible, but it happens," he countered.

"What if someone was … easing the process along a bit?" she suggested slowly, biting her lip.

"What do you mean?"

"Well … there are plenty of drugs that can produce dementia-like symptoms if consumed at toxic levels," Nikki said quickly, not giving Harry an opportunity to interrupt. "Cardiovascular drugs, antidepressants, antihistamines, corticosteroids-"

"Nikki," Harry said placatingly as they pulled into the lab car park and he killed the engine. She ignored him.

"I bet they stock everything in the pharmacy at Lakeview. There are so many drugs that would do it. Even things like Valium. And Pramipexole – how many residents do you think are getting treatment for Parkinson's disease? Pramipexole and Tolcapone would be in ample supply."

"All right," Harry conceded. "It's plausible, I'll give you that. But why would anyone want to do that to an old lady?"

"Agnes would start displaying, what? Confusion, memory loss, paranoia? The perfect excuse for if she were to accidentally let something slip…" Nikki said meaningfully, and then waited for Harry to get it. Eventually, she saw understanding light up his eyes.

"She saw something that she shouldn't have. Something that might be related to Anne Liu's murder!" he said excitedly. "Someone was trying to stop her from saying anything."

"Or at least stop anyone from believing her," Nikki nodded. "Come on, let's go and run this by Harlow."

It was very peculiar walking into the Lyell Centre. Although she'd only been away for three days, it felt like an awful lot longer. In a way it was like returning home after a holiday. The offices were silent as they walked through them. It wasn't until they peeked round the door of the cutting room that they saw Leo, absorbed in the Smart Boards at the front. Pressing a finger to his lips, Harry quietly stepped into the room. Nikki followed on tiptoes so as to avoid the sound of her heels. A moment later and Harry said loudly, "Morning!"

Leo spun around, initially startled. When he saw it was them he relaxed, a big grin catching on his lips. "What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"We've got the morning off," Nikki explained with a smile. "We're meeting Harlow in a few minutes."

"Yes, he said he was coming," Leo nodded. "But he didn't say either of you would turn up! I thought he just wanted to go through the physical evidence with me again. So? How's it going?"

"It could be worse," Harry shrugged. "I miss home, we both do, but we've got each other."

Leo's eyes flicked between the pair of them. A small, knowing smile crept onto his face. "You've made up, I see. What's it like being married?"

Both Harry and Nikki rolled their eyes. "It's fine," Nikki tutted. "Not much different to normal. We only act married around other people."

Leo chuckled. "Well, I hope Harry's at least being chivalrous enough to take the sofa."

The pair exchanged a look. Leo frowned at Nikki. "You're on the sofa?" When they didn't answer he shook his head, clearly amused. "Neither of you are on the sofa."

"It's nothing dodgy, don't worry," Harry said quickly. "The sofa gave me a bad back, that's all."

Leo was about to reply, but Nikki cut across him. "Hang on! How do you know that we only have one bedroom?"

Harry mock-gasped. "You did this! I knew it!"

"No," Leo said, but it was clear that he didn't mean it, "I just … helped Josh choose a place for you."

"If this is some elaborate plan to…" Harry started, but trailed off.

"To what?" Leo prompted, knowing full well what Harry meant. All three of them knew the rest of that sentence: _some elaborate plan to make us get together_. But, of course, none of them could say it, because that would mean facing something that had remained hidden for years.

"Where's Harlow?" Nikki asked hastily, trying to cover up the slightly awkward silence.

"He's here," came a voice from the doorway and Nikki turned to see Josh Harlow smiling at her. "How are you two getting on? I assume you've found something, which is why you're here and not there?"

"Sort of," Harry said. "Nothing concrete yet though."

They proceeded to give Harlow and Leo and slightly watered-down version of events, including every significant detail from their time so far at Lakeview, but leaving out the majority of their 'home life'. Nikki told them of her theory that someone was killing these people to cover their tracks, and then Harry supplied the details about why Agnes could have suddenly developed dementia. When they were finished, Leo looked thoughtful and Harlow looked impressed.

"Okay, guys," the detective mused. "It's a good theory, I like it. It explains how two seemingly different murders are, in fact, related. Get me some concrete evidence."

"Well, we'll try," Nikki said with a strained smile.

"Right, I have to dash," Josh said, "Sorry. What can I say; I'm a much demanded man." He departed with a grin.

Harry turned to Leo. "We'd better be going as well," he said regretfully.

"So soon?"

"We start work again at one," Nikki explained, crossing the room to give their boss a brief hug. "I'll see you soon."

"Be careful, won't you?" Leo said as they headed towards the door. "Don't go looking for trouble."

Harry rolled his eyes. "We'll be fine. But … thanks, anyway."

They all exchanged a smile before Harry and Nikki exited, a pang of sadness in the pit of Nikki's stomach as they walked through the Lyell Centre and she realised just how much she missed it. Harry obviously sensed her mood because as they crossed the car park he said, "Let's go out for lunch."

"Do we have time?"

"Yeah. We'll have an early lunch. It's only eleven now, we've got two hours," he said, pausing to unlock the car.

Smiling, Nikki climbed into the passenger seat. As she pulled the seatbelt across her, she said, "All right then. Where?"

"Not the usual place. Somewhere different. My treat," he told her, pulling out of the car park.

"What's brought this on?" she frowned.

"No reason. Can't a husband treat his wife every now and again?" he winked.

Laughing, Nikki let the topic go despite knowing him well enough to recognise that he wasn't telling her everything. But she wasn't going to push it, not when they were both in such high spirits.

"It was good to see Leo again, wasn't it?" she smiled.

"It's only been three days, not three weeks," Harry pointed out, amused.

"I know, but I'm so used to seeing or at least speaking to him every day that it's weird when I don't. It's like when you go on conferences. I hate that."

"That's why we should propose to Leo that in the future we attend all conferences together," he said.

"I agree. Even if you are a bad influence," she giggled.

He gasped in mock-offence. "I don't know _what_ you're talking about."

"Skipping lectures to go to the pub…" she reminded him.

Harry took his eyes off the road for a second to look at her. "We have fun at the pub," he said with a small smile, before returning his attention to the road ahead. The memories behind his words didn't escape either of them. Grinning, Nikki turned her head to look out of the window.

They ate lunch in a quiet restaurant just a five-minute drive from Lakeview. The food was enjoyable, the atmosphere relaxed and comfortable, and Nikki was truly having a good time. She'd forgotten, what with their argument and then going undercover, just how much fun she had when she was out with Harry. His teasing, as well as the quips and jokes he made, somehow always put a smile on her face. But, before she knew it, it was time for them to leave and return to their pretend life. Not for the first time, Nikki wished that they could just stay in that restaurant forever.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as he swung the car into a parking spot at Lakeview.

"I'm fine," she told him with a forced smile.

"No you're not. What is it?" he pressed, concern etched on his face.

"I just miss reality," she shrugged.

Harry gave her a reassuring smile. "Well, we're getting somewhere with this case now. Hopefully it won't take too much longer to work it all out. Then we can go back to how we were."

A look passed between them, no more than a millisecond long, yet neither of them missed it. Nikki couldn't quite place what it was, but before she'd had a chance to analyse it, Harry was climbing from the car. As she also got out and followed him to the front of the bonnet, she spotted a few of the staff outside in the smoking area on the other side of the car park, eyeing her and Harry beadily.

"They're watching us," she muttered. "Probably discussing our fake marriage and our fake babies that Edie has been telling everyone we're fake having."

Harry grabbed her hand and held her back as she tried to walk away. "So let's give them something to talk about," he said quickly, and before she'd had time to process what he was doing, he'd pulled her flush against him from knee to chest and crashed his lips into hers.

It wasn't until that moment that Nikki realised just how much she'd been waiting for and wanting that moment to happen. She felt so lightheaded that she could hardly think; a crackle of electricity tickled her spine that sent a shiver throughout her entire body. One of her hands – of its own volition, she was sure – was lightly playing with the hairs on the nape of his neck. The other was gripping his shoulder tightly. From the burning sensation on her skin, she realised that his hands must be on her waist. Never before had she been so completely lost in someone else, so absorbed and invested in them, that she'd completely forgotten about everything going on around her. As he deepened the kiss and she moaned into his mouth, she knew that World War Three could have broken out around them and she wouldn't have even noticed, let alone cared. It was like they were flying, and she had no desire whatsoever to return to Earth.

But then it was all over, as suddenly as it had begun. Breathless, they stood and looked at each other for a minute. She noticed that Harry's lips were slightly swollen, and she could feel how flushed her cheeks were.

"That … that …" was all she managed before giving up and resigning herself to incoherence.

"We've got to keep up the act, haven't we?" Harry said gruffly. "That should keep them off our backs for a while."

He was brushing it off as casual, as if it didn't matter or wasn't even real … and it hit Nikki that it wasn't. They weren't Harry Cunningham and Nikki Alexander in that moment, they were Mr and Mrs Toulson. The realisation, therefore, that it really didn't mean anything to Harry – well, that was heart-breaking.

* * *

><p><strong>So Nikki may be beginning to realise something. ;) <strong>

**Sorry it took a while to get this chapter up, I had a bit of a mental block on whether I should actually put a kiss in there or not. But you've all been so wonderful and lovely in your reviews that I thought I'd treat you to a bit of fluff. :)**

**You guys are awesome, as I've said many times. Thanks for sticking with this. **

**xxx**


	8. When the Bough Breaks

**Chapter Eight: **When the Bough Breaks

Distracted and unable to concentrate, Nikki's shift that afternoon had been her worst one yet at Lakeview. Once again she was in the lounge for the entire time, but Harry off doing something else. She considered that this was probably a good thing. He was acting like nothing had happened, like he hadn't kissed her, and she was finding the same task increasingly difficult. Even the residents had noticed that something was wrong.

She'd been sitting with Alfred for the best part of an hour, helping him to write a letter to his daughter, who lived in Scotland. When they had finished, the frail old man asked Nikki to sit with him for a while. Knowing that she would rather do that than make cups of tea, she agreed.

"What's the matter, my dear?" Alfred asked her, taking her hand in his. "Man troubles?"

She giggled slightly. "Something like that."

"But you've got that nice husband of yours. You've not had a falling out?" he continued, genuine concern on his face.

Unable to help it, Nikki felt tears smart at her eyes. "Not really. I'm fine," she assured him. She took a deep breath and then said, "Anyway, what about you? That was a beautiful letter. It must be hard not seeing your family very often."

"Since my Marie died it's been harder for Gemma and the kids to visit. Just reminds them that Marie's not here anymore," he told her sadly.

"But you're still here," Nikki said kindly. "I bet they're appreciative of that."

"Well… They come when they can. Christmas and my birthday. It's a long way from Scotland, you know."

"I know," Nikki smiled, a pang of sympathy hitting her for this old man who didn't have anyone. "How long have you been here at Lakeview?"

"Must be eight or nine years now," Alfred told her. "It was Gemma's idea. Marie and I weren't very happy about it at first, but we couldn't cope at home on our own anymore."

"Are you happy here?" she asked quietly.

"I was. Until my Marie passed two years ago. Now I'm just lonely. Although…"

"Although what?"

Alfred looked guiltily down at his hands. "Edie," he said quietly. "She's so incredible, isn't she? Nice to everybody. Beautiful too…"

A small smile of understanding graced Nikki's lips. "Perhaps if you talked to Edie…"

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm too old for all that kind of nonsense," he said, patting Nikki's hand. "Besides, she wouldn't want an old codger like me."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Maybe one day," Alfred said, looking across the room at Edie. "Maybe one day I'll tell her. After all, when you get to my age you can't afford to waste second chances. You're lucky that you've found your person, Nikki. Make sure you hang on tight to him."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she said, "I will."

"I suppose you're off soon," Alfred said, looking down at his watch. "Shift change in twenty minutes."

"I suppose I am," she said. "Will you be all right? Only Harry said that you don't like Caroline very much…"

Alfred pulled a face. "She's a right cow – excuse my language, dear. Wanted to put me and Marie in separate rooms when we first arrived. I told her, I said, 'I've spent every single night of the last fifty years sleeping beside this woman, and that's not going to change now'! So she let us. Wasn't happy about it though."

"Is she like that to everyone?" Nikki carefully asked.

"Yeah. Right miserable so-and-so, she is. Treats us like we're stupid, just because we're old. But lovely Anne would stand up to her."

"Anne?" Nikki remembered the kind face of the young woman at the bottom of the stairs.

"It was dreadful, what happened to her. Fell down the stairs just a few days ago," Alfred said. "She always had been a clumsy girl, God rest her soul."

"Did you say she would stand up to Caroline?"

"If Caroline was being particularly horrible she would step in. Or she'd fight a resident's cause. She was caring and nice like that."

"So Caroline and Anne didn't like each other then?" Nikki asked, trying to sound only mildly interested.

"Hated each other, didn't they? Always arguing," Alfred tutted.

The words that Agnes had spoken reverberated around Nikki's brain: 'they fought like cat and dog'. At that moment, Jack came over to Alfred, waving a pack of cards in his face.

"Fancy a game, Alf?" Jack asked, leaning on his walking stick.

Alfred agreed and Nikki left them to it, her head buzzing with what the elderly man had told her. If Anne had always stood up to Caroline, then perhaps she just pushed the care worker too far. Maybe Caroline had snapped.

A hand grabbed Nikki's elbow, pulling her out of her trance. Harry was stood there, subtly pulling her from the room.

"What are you doing?" she asked, forgetting the awkwardness between them as he purposefully led her through the corridors.

"It's quarter to ten. The nurses on the night-shift have just arrived. Including Caroline. As we're out of here in a few minutes I thought we should meet her now. We might not get another chance," he explained hurriedly.

"Alf told me that Caroline and Anne were always at loggerheads," she told him in a whisper. "Caroline can be a bit strict, apparently, and Anne would stand up for the residents."

"It would give her motive," Harry said, but stopped talking as they reached the staffroom. Casually, they walked in.

It was busy, with a lot of people arriving and pulling on their scrubs. A loud voice in the centre of the room was saying, "Urgh, I hate this bloody job."

Into her ear, Harry whispered, "That's her."

Nonchalantly, Nikki walked across the room towards her locker to get a better look at Caroline. She was a thin woman, a little taller than Nikki with short brown hair. There was a pinched look about her face and her eyes were cold and unforgiving.

"I can't wait to leave," she went on, to no one in particular.

"Why don't you then, Caroline?" Kelly, the nurse who'd befriended Harry and Nikki on their first day, muttered.

"Because, Kelly, I'm under obligation to work out my contract here first. Otherwise I would."

Catching Nikki's eye, Kelly rolled hers. Giggling, Nikki turned to locker and began to get changed. As she pulled her jumper on over the top of the t-shirt she wore under her uniform, someone cleared their throat from beside her. Turning, she saw Caroline give her a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"You must be new here," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Caroline. Senior care worker."

"Nice to meet you," Nikki said slowly. "I'm Nikki."

Behind her, a voice said, "And I'm Harry. Her husband."

"That's lovely," Caroline said, although it was clear she didn't mean it. "A piece of advice, if you're to succeed here as I have… Don't bother making friends with the residents. They'll act all sweet and innocent but they won't hesitate when it comes to taking advantage of you. You know what? Same goes for the staff."

She didn't give Harry or Nikki a chance to say anything as she turned and left the room, which was gradually emptying. Turning her head to look at Harry, Nikki saw he was just as perplexed as she was. "Come on," he muttered. "Let's get out of here."

Ten minutes later and they were driving home. The tension between them had all but dissipated, what with the distraction of the case, but Nikki knew that hidden in the back of their minds was the memory of that kiss. Harry stopped to get a takeaway pizza on the way home, both of them too tired to cook anything, and as Nikki watched him walk away from the car she couldn't help but smile. So they kissed, so what? It was all part of the act, that was all. Yes, maybe she had initially wished that it wasn't make-believe, but upon reflection she decided that it was probably for the best. Otherwise they'd only be left with a whole host of complications. Right now, they both just needed to focus on the case so that they could get back to reality. Everything would be different then. It would all go back to normal.

When Harry climbed back into the car a few minutes later and handed her a large pizza box, she said, "Do you really think it was Caroline?"

"I don't know. Do you?"

"Perhaps… She certainly seems to be our most plausible suspect."

"She's our only suspect," Harry snorted.

"Well, there is that," Nikki grinned.

Neither of them talked much for the rest of the night, choosing instead to remain in a comfortable silence. Nikki wasn't paying much attention to the film that they were supposed to be watching, and she doubted whether Harry was either. Preoccupied by fatigue and with thoughts of Lakeview, her concentration span was rather limited. It wasn't until Harry downed his glass of wine and got to his feet that she pulled herself back to the present.

"I'm going to bed," he told her. "I'm shattered."

"I'll be there in a minute," she smiled, like it was the most normal thing in the world. Waiting for fifteen minutes to make sure that Harry would be in bed and therefore minimising the chance of another awkward encounter occurring, it was a little past midnight when she eventually trudged upstairs to the bedroom.

Quietly, she opened the door and crept in. Harry had left a lamp on for her, but he was already fast asleep. He was facing his bedside table and therefore her, and she'd never seen him look so peaceful. The abrasive humour and confident charm that normally oozed from his every pore had vanished, to be replaced by something a lot more still and relaxed. It struck her how vulnerable he looked in that moment, as if without the jokes and the flirting he finally allowed his demons to take hold. He wasn't as strong as he liked to make out, she knew that.

Continuing to watch him sleep, it really hit her for the first time just how much he'd been through – how much they'd all been through – and yet had somehow managed to come out the other side. People stronger than Harry wouldn't have been able to put themselves back together after an event such as Hungary. Equally, if he hadn't been there for her when she was nearing a breakdown, if he hadn't known that something was wrong with her and fought her every step of the way to make sure she got the help she was so adamant she didn't need – well, Nikki was pretty sure she wouldn't be standing where she was. He was always there for her. Through thick and thin. Whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on or just someone who can make her laugh and forget about her troubles.

He stirred and rolled onto his back when she finally flicked off the light and climbed into bed, murmuring something incoherent. "Shh," she whispered, shifting closer to him and laying her head on his chest, draping one arm over his stomach. He wrapped his own arm around her shoulder, his hand coming to rest on her hair, much as it had been when they'd woken up that morning. "Go back to sleep," she breathed. He nodded sleepily, not once opening his eyes, and it wasn't long before his breathing evened out again. She hated the confusion that consumed her as thoughts of that day's kiss once again flooded her brain, until, eventually, sleep stole her away too

* * *

><p><strong>What can I say, besides thankyouthankyouthankyou for all the lovely reviews I've been getting? You people are AWESOME and the reason that I'm writing this, so THANK YOU. :)<strong>


	9. Oranges and Lemons

**Chapter Nine: **Oranges and Lemons

Due to them working later the night before, Harry and Nikki didn't need to be at work until mid-morning the next day, something that they had both made the most of. Harry had been up before she had even woken, leaving a note on her bedside table simply stating that he was going for a run. So Nikki had taken the opportunity of having the house to herself and enjoyed a long soak in the bath, followed by a good half an hour spent immaculately doing her hair. It wasn't until she was in the kitchen preparing croissants and coffee that she heard Harry come home.

"Morning," he said breathlessly as he entered the kitchen.

"You took your time," she commented. "I thought you were supposed to be running, not walking?"

He peeled off his hoody to reveal a sweaty grey t-shirt underneath. "Yeah, well. Running clears my head."

He gave her a quick smile before making to leave the room. Frowning, Nikki said, "Are you okay?"

"Fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

He disappeared upstairs, and a few minutes later Nikki heard the shower come on. The case must be getting to him, she reasoned. It was getting to both of them. They weren't making as much progress as they'd liked, and homesickness was a constant lingering reminder of that. Sighing, she ate breakfast alone.

When they arrived at Lakeview a little before ten-thirty that morning, they immediately noticed the ambulance outside, its blue lights spinning silently. Nikki ran over to the fluorescent vehicle, panic-stricken. Kelly was stood by the steps of the building along with several other nurses and residents, tears in her eyes and her arms folded across her chest. "What's going on?" Nikki asked hurriedly, coming to a halt beside her.

"It's Alfred," Kelly said sadly. "He collapsed. He's alive but he – he didn't look good."

"What happened?" came a voice as Harry skidded to a halt beside her.

"Alf," Nikki said quietly, nodding towards the ambulance. Harry swore under his breath and ran a hand through his hair. Next to her, Kelly started to sob quietly. Putting an arm around her shoulders, Nikki said, "Come on. Let's go and get you a cup of tea."

The two of them walked back to the staffroom, which was thankfully empty. Kelly sank into a chair as Nikki bustled around at the sink with the kettle. A minute later and she passed the younger woman a steaming mug, which Kelly accepted gratefully.

"I don't understand," the nurse muttered, shaking her head. "He was fine at breakfast. Didn't say he was feeling ill. Then we were in the lounge for visiting time and he was sitting playing Scrabble and then … then he was on the floor."

"I'm sure he'll be okay," Nikki said, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

Kelly shrugged, staring into the depth of her mug. "Comes with the job, doesn't it? Watching those you get attached to disappear."

The door burst open and Harry rushed into the room, startling Nikki and Kelly. "The paramedics said his vitals are strong," he told them, then added, "Nikki, can I have a word?"

Kelly stood up, smoothing down her top. "I should be getting back to work. Jordan will have my head," she said, then slipped from the room.

"What is it?" Nikki asked Harry, noticing his agitation.

"The paramedic thinks Alfred was poisoned," he said in a hurried whisper. "They're not sure with what yet, but they're going to take him to hospital and see what they can do."

"Oh my God…" Nikki muttered, her hand over her mouth. "Harry, you don't think this is related, do you?"

"Yeah, I do. Three people dead in four days? I mean, I know it's an old people's home, but that's ridiculous. Look, I'm going to speak to Jordan, get him to give me the day off, then I'm going to the hospital to sit with Alf," he told her.

"You are?"

"Yeah. He doesn't have anyone, does he? And I want to be sure that nothing else happens to him. I'll phone Harlow on my way." He stepped closer to Nikki and touched her elbow. "Because, if he was our murderer's next victim, they failed, didn't they? He's still alive."

Nikki watched him leave, still slightly in shock. "Harry?" she called, just as he was about to open the door. He stopped and looked at her. "Be careful," she told him quietly.

He smiled at her. "Right back at you. I'll pick you up on my way back from the hospital this evening, okay?"

He left, leaving Nikki alone. It seemed impossible to think that just an hour ago she was happily eating her breakfast. Getting changed quickly, she headed straight for the lounge, where Alfred was the main topic of conversation. She almost bumped into Caroline, who was making to leave the chaos of the room. Seizing the opportunity, Nikki said quickly, "It's horrible, what happened to Alf."

"That's what happens in this place," the senior nurse said bluntly. "These people are old, they die. It's just how it goes. Meanwhile, I have to stay an hour past the end of my shift just to calm them all down."

Before Nikki could say anything else Caroline bustled past her, leaving Nikki to look properly around the room for the first time since she'd entered it. Because it was visiting hour there were many relatives trying to soothe the residents, who were clearly upset about Alfred. On the far side of the room were Edie and her daughter, Julie. It was clear even from a distance that the elderly woman had been crying. Certain that no one else urgently required her attention, Nikki walked over to Edie.

"Edie? I'm sorry, I heard what happened," she said softly.

"Oh, thank you, dear," the old woman trembled, taking Nikki's hand. They both ignored Julie's disapproving tut.

"Try and think positive," Nikki smiled. "He's still hanging on. There's still hope."

"Hope," Edie scoffed. "What good will that do? I hope every day that I won't have to watch another one of my friends die, and now Alf…" She trailed off and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

Nikki sat in the chair beside her. "Alf, he – thought a great deal of you," she said carefully.

"I know," Edie said with a sad smile.

Shocked, Nikki said, "You knew?"

"A woman always knows, Nikki. He's been working up the courage to tell me for weeks."

"Never mind about preserving Dad's memory," Julie muttered caustically.

"Julie, I have told you before. Your father wanted me to be happy, just as I would him if the roles were reversed," Edie snapped, before her face crumpled and a tear slipped down her cheek. Gazing at Nikki imploringly, she said, "I never told him. Even though I knew how he felt, I never told him that I loved him too."

"I'm sure he'll be okay," Nikki said, squeezing Edie's hand, "and then you can tell each other."

"He has to be okay," she whispered. "He needs more time. _We_ need more time. Life's too short."

**. . .**

The rest of the day seemed to drag by. Nikki spent every break and her entire lunch hour trying to get hold of Harry but his phone was switched off, presumably because he was in the hospital. It wasn't until the end of her shift and she was buttoning up her coat and wrapping her scarf around her neck that her mobile buzzed in her pocket. It was a text from him, telling her that he was waiting in the car park. Hastily bidding the others goodnight, Nikki left the building and emerged into the cold and dark car park, where she could see Harry just a short distance away. He smiled at her as she opened the door and slumped into the passenger seat, relishing in the warmth of the car.

"How is he?" was her first question.

"Touch and go," Harry said, reversing out of the parking spot. "It was cyanide poisoning; the doctors established what was wrong pretty quickly. He suffered pulmonary oedema and arrested once, but they managed to get him back. They're treating him with hydroxocobalamin, and he's doing well."

"But his age…" Nikki muttered. "And there are so many complications that can follow cyanide poisoning, even if he does wake up."

"_When_ he wakes up. The doctors are confident that he will," Harry corrected her firmly. "They said there's a chance he might have bronchitis because of it, and experience orthostatic hypotension as well as a shortness of breath and possible hyperventilation for a while. But they're treatable and he's well looked after at Lakeview."

"Well looked after?" Nikki exclaimed. "Ha. That's why someone poisoned him!"

"We'll get to the bottom of this," he assured her. "We will."

"We have to," she muttered, her breath fogging up the window that she was staring out of. "For Alfred's sake."

It wasn't until Nikki was moodily pushing food around her plate later that night that Harry finally put his knife and fork down and said, "What's wrong?"

She shrugged, the lump in her throat constricting her speech.

"It's clearly something," Harry pushed. "You know you can tell me."

Determined to avoid his questions, she stood and gathered Harry's empty plate and her nearly-full one. "I'll go and do the washing up, shall I?" she said, but didn't wait for an answer as she disappeared into the kitchen.

Harry followed her, and if she was honest with herself, she hadn't expected anything less. "Nikki, come on…" he said, in that way that had always calmed her down. She stopped and leant against the worktop with her back to him for a moment, inhaling deeply. Then she spun around.

"It's my fault!" she said loudly. "Alfred being in hospital is my fault! I was talking to him yesterday evening about Caroline, he was telling me everything about her! He practically handed me her motive without even realising it. She must've known, or someone must have told her! So she poisoned Alfred and now he might die and it's all because of me!"

A sob escaped her lips and Harry, startled at her outburst, stepped towards her and placed his hands on the top of her arms. "You can't blame yourself for this. You don't know that that's why-"

Nikki shrugged him off. "Of course that's why. Bit of a coincidence otherwise, isn't it?" she scoffed. "I should have been more careful. I'm so stupid. Why didn't I ask him when there was no one else around? I'm such an _idiot_!"

"Stop it," Harry said firmly, but he made no attempt to touch her this time. "You're going to get yourself all worked up."

"I hate being undercover," she muttered bitterly, "I'm rubbish at it. And I miss Leo, and my apartment! I want to get back to work and have my elbows in corpses, rather than watching people who I've grown fond of slip away. Or, watching people get poisoned because of me! I've been distracted, and homesick, and I keep forgetting our new surname and – and you kissed me! And since then you've been out running and not eating breakfast with me and turning your phone off! I don't know what to make of that and it's all such a mess!" She stopped and took a deep breath, before adding, "I just want to go back to reality, because this – this fantastical world that we're living in? I hate it."

There was a silence that filled the kitchen following her ramblings. Harry was staring at her in shock and it took him a moment to recover. She waited for him to retaliate, to tell her that it could be worse or keep insisting that nothing that happened was her fault, and then neatly sidestep around the issue of the kiss, which she was regretting bringing up – but he didn't.

"Okay," he said resolutely, taking her hands in his and holding them tightly. "Now I know you tend not to pay much attention to me, but this time you need to, okay?"

She smiled slightly. "Okay."

"What happened to Alf was a horrible, horrible thing," he told her, never once breaking eye contact, "and maybe you speaking to him _did_ trigger the killer into doing something. But if it hadn't been you then it would only have been someone else some other time. We didn't see it coming, and maybe that was our fault, but you did not put cyanide in his breakfast or tea or whatever it was. I understand why you feel so guilty, but it's irrational because you have nothing to be sorry for. You have to let it go before it eats at you."

Nikki nodded, blinking away tears, but Harry wasn't finished. He sighed and took a small step closer to her.

"I know I kissed you," he said quietly. "Perhaps I shouldn't have. Or perhaps I should have stopped kissing you sooner than I did… We both got caught up in the moment and – and I don't really know what it was. But we weren't Harry and Nikki, were we? We were Mr and Mrs Toulson. It was all part of the act, so you don't have to worry about what it meant or the repercussions, okay? We'll just pretend it never happened."

A pang of disappointment hit Nikki at his words, and she realised that part of her didn't want to pretend it never happened. But she wasn't going to mention that now, not when Harry was so insistent that it didn't mean anything. A tear rolled down her cheek, which he brushed away with his thumb.

"We'll be home before we know it, I promise," he smiled, pulling her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leant her head on his chest. But the words that Edie has spoken earlier that day were ringing in her ears: _'life's too short'._

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><p><strong>I feel really mean putting Alfred in hospital! I didn't want to write it. But it's a key part of the plot, so... ;)<strong>

**Thank you for all the reviews! I love you all.**

**xxx**


	10. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

**Chapter Ten: **Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

"We've been at Lakeview for a week now, Harry. A _week_. It was exactly seven days ago that Leo and Harlow told us we'd be going," Nikki lamented as they ate their takeaway in front of the television on Friday evening.

"Ah, but technically we've only been at Lakeview for five days," he grinned.

"Shut up, you know what I mean," she tutted. "My point is, we're nowhere nearer to finding the killer than we were Monday morning."

"Yes we are!" Harry laughed. "Caroline had means, motive and opportunity. What more do you want?"

"I don't know. It just … doesn't feel right," she said, sipping at her wine.

"You're never bloody satisfied," he muttered, causing Nikki to giggle loudly.

"Okay," she said, humouring him, "so let's say it is Caroline."

"All right then."

"Our first victim, Anne. Why?"

"Well," said Harry, mulling it over. "She and Anne were always arguing. Anne stood up to her and disagreed with her; undermined Caroline in front of the other residents. She was used to being top dog, she didn't like this young nurse interfering. They were at the top of the stairs, they argued, Caroline lost her temper and strangled Anne to death, then pushed her down them."

"Agnes saw, so therefore Caroline had to kill her too…" Nikki mused.

"Exactly."

"But that doesn't explain why she was poisoning Agnes to induce dementia for weeks previously," she pointed out.

"No… But then we don't know for sure that Agnes _was_ poisoned. Leo said there was nothing in her tox screen. If it was there, it had worn off," Harry said.

"She was already insane by that point, she didn't need to keep taking the drugs," Nikki reasoned, lost in thought.

"Caroline tried to kill Alfred because he knew too much," Harry went on.

"Well, that's what I thought initially, but that doesn't make sense either," she said, shaking her head. "Alfred wasn't the only person in there who knew that Anne and Caroline didn't like each other. In fact, everyone knew. It's not like he suspected Caroline of the murder – or if he did then he didn't say anything. So why bother killing him?"

"Are you trying to say that Caroline's definitely not the killer?" he asked, disbelieving. "Nikki, have you _met_ her?"

"Yes, she's horrible I agree. But it just doesn't fit, and we're trying to make it fit so that we can get back to reality."

"So we're back to square one?"

"Looks like it."

"Wonderful," he said sarcastically. "That's just great."

"We can hardly accuse an innocent person just so that we don't have to live here anymore," she smirked. "Besides, it's growing on me now."

"What is? Being my wife?"

She pulled an exaggerated face. "God, no. Never that."

Harry laughed. "Then what?"

"Well … this." She gestured around the room. "Living together and everything."

"So … being my wife then?" he winked.

"Be quiet and eat your noodles, Harry," she said, but a smile was twitching at her lips. "Besides, we'd never work."

"Oh no," Harry said, "Of course we wouldn't. Think of all the arguments we'd end up having."

"Mm," she nodded. "And your obsession with aeroplanes and air shows would drive me mad."

"Not to mention you forcing me to watch your dreadful Agatha Christie films," he added.

"And your awful war movies," she reminded him with a grimace.

"Yeah, we'd never work," he agreed seriously. But they caught each other's eye, a faint smile playing on both their lips. Nikki almost couldn't believe that they'd just had that conversation. They'd discussed the idea of them being together … when they weren't even together. But for the first time in seven years, they'd openly acknowledged to each other and themselves that there was something between them that wasn't entirely platonic. And that scared her a little.

"I'm going to bed now," she said with a self-deprecating smile.

"Please do," Harry said in relief, laughing anxiously. The conversation had clearly freaked him out a little too. They both seemed afraid that if they stayed in the room together any longer then one of them might say something else.

"Do you want me to help you clear up?" she asked, gesturing to the remnants of their takeaway on the coffee table.

"No, it's fine. I'll do it. There's a bit of work I want to do after, then I'll come to bed."

"Okay," she nodded, and turned to leave the room.

"Nikki?" he called after her as she reached the doorframe. She turned around and he looked at her intently for a second, before saying, "Good night."

A smile graced her lips. "Good night, Harry."

**. . .**

Nikki woke with a start the next morning. At first she couldn't work out what was different, why she had woken, but then she felt the cold, empty sheets beside her and frowned. Propping herself up on one elbow, she looked at the clock on Harry's bedside table. It was only just gone four. So why wasn't Harry in bed? He'd definitely been in bed at some point, his pillow was skewed and the sheets crumpled. But his side of the mattress was now stone cold. Yawning, she swung her legs out of bed and padded downstairs.

He was slumped on the sofa in his pyjamas, his feet up on the coffee table. In his hands was a sheaf of paper and balanced on his legs was his laptop, the bright screen being the only light in the room.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly from the doorway.

Harry jumped, grabbing his laptop which nearly toppled onto the floor. "I couldn't sleep," he told her with a tired smile. Shivering slightly, Nikki crossed the room and climbed onto the sofa beside him, tucking her legs up beneath her.

"What's all this?" she asked curiously, taking a piece of paper from his hand.

"The case," he said simply, rubbing his eyes. When he saw her perplexed look, he added, "I've typed it all up a thousand different ways. I've done mind-maps and tables, I've colour-coded different bits, I've made timelines and gathered all the photographic evidence."

"Just like we would normally have at work," she nodded in understanding, a smile crossing her face. "Harry, this is brilliant!"

"I thought it might make me see things more clearly," he said, shaking his head, "but it still doesn't make any sense."

Sighing, he dropped the files onto the coffee table and closed the lid of his laptop. Letting his head fall back onto the sofa, he turned to look at her.

"Why are you up so early?"

She shrugged. "Same as you, I guess."

"Well, we can both be insomniacs together," he chuckled. Seeing her shaking with cold, he outstretched his arm and tugged her against him. She smiled, draping her arm over his stomach. "I suppose you're not going to tell me _why_ you can't sleep?" he added shrewdly, looking down at her.

She looked straight back at him. "I suppose you're not going to tell me why _you_ can't sleep either," she shot, well aware that she was just avoiding the question.

He smirked slightly. "Well-played."

"What are we doing today?" she asked, changing the subject.

"It's our first day off since we've been at Lakeview. Can't we just do nothing?" he said.

"We'll have to keep working on the case though," she reminded him sleepily.

"I know, but we can do that from the comfort of our own home, can't we?"

She smiled slightly. "Fine. But I'm getting another couple of hours' sleep first."

"Good idea," he agreed, standing up with a groan and taking her hand. Together, they walked back up the stairs.

"This isn't weird at all," she giggled, gesturing to their entwined fingers and the bedroom.

"I'm too tired to worry about trivialities such as the fact that you secretly want to jump into bed with me," he joked.

They collapsed into bed, finally letting go of each other. Staring up at the ceiling, a furious battle was raging inside Nikki's head, triggered by Harry's words. He was just joking, as he so often did, yet at the same time she couldn't help thinking how perhaps he'd unintentionally stated the obvious.

"Maybe I do," she whispered, and then turned her head to look at him. He was fast asleep, his chest rising and falling slowly as he inhaled deeply. Sighing, she rolled over to face her bedside table and closed her eyes.

**. . .**

Having spent their day off productively working on the case, yet at the same time not making any progress, Harry and Nikki arrived at Lakeview on Sunday morning feeling thoroughly fed up with the whole situation. The murderer remained as elusive as ever, and while he or she stayed that way every one of the residents was at risk, not to mention the staff. It wasn't until her mobile buzzed in her pocket mid-morning that Nikki could finally see a glimmer of hope. Harlow told her quickly, while she hid in a supply closet so that people wouldn't see her on the phone, that Alfred had finally woken up from his coma. It was a welcome relief, and she quickly sought out Harry to share the news.

"That's brilliant," he grinned when she told him, glancing around the deserted corridor. "I knew he'd be all right."

"He's not out of the woods yet," she pointed out, unwilling to raise her hopes too high, "but I'm going to go and talk to him. See what he knows. Harlow said he wouldn't be able to make it until later this afternoon to take an official statement, and I can't wait that long."

"Okay. I'll clear it with Jordan for you so you can go now, if you like?" he offered, whilst fishing the car keys out of a pocket in his scrub trousers and handing them to her.

"Thanks," she smiled, not particularly keen to talk to the miserable and unhelpful boss. "I'll meet you in the café round the corner for our lunch break."

"See you later," he nodded, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze before heading in the direction of Jordan's office, while she went the opposite way towards the car park.

It wasn't a long drive to the hospital and she was standing outside Alfred's room in intensive care just half an hour after she'd left Lakeview. A large, black nurse came bustling over to her, eyeing Nikki's lilac scrubs.

"You don't work here?" she asked whilst stacking some charts at the nurses' station.

"Oh, no," Nikki smiled. "I work at the care home where Alfred O'Connell lives."

"You're here to see Alf," she said in understanding. "Hi, I'm Jenny."

"Nikki."

"You're lucky, Nikki, he's just woken up," Jenny told her with a kind smile.

"How is he?" Nikki asked concernedly.

"Well, as with most cyanide poisonings he's been left with a mild case of bronchitis. We haven't been able to tell much else yet, but it could have been a lot worse, put it that way."

Nodding, Nikki said, "Can I go in?"

"Of course you can, love. I'll just give you one of these," Jenny said, passing Nikki a thin protective gown, "and make sure you use that hand sanitiser on the wall over there. Alf's quite vulnerable to infection at the moment, so we want to do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen."

Doing as she was told, Nikki then entered Alfred's room. Machines were whirring and beeping around him, with wires criss-crossing over his chest. In his arm was an IV, which slowly dripped fluids into him. An oxygen mask over his mouth muffled his chesty coughs, but he was alive and he was smiling at her.

"I didn't expect to see you, Miss Nikki," he wheezed, pulling the mask away.

She gave him a beaming smile, just glad that he was okay. "How are you?"

"I've been better," he said, smiling at her as she sat down in a chair beside his bed.

"I need to ask you some questions about what happened, Alf," she said gently.

He frowned. "You do? I'd have thought it would be Jordan or the police asking me questions…" Nikki looked shiftily down at her knees. The realisation must have hit Alfred because he said, "You're not really a nurse, are you?"

"No," she said apologetically, looking up at the old man again. "My name's Nikki Alexander, not Toulson. I'm a pathologist. I'm working with the police, undercover, to find out about the murders at Lakeview."

Alfred looked like he was struggling with which piece of information to process first. "Murders?" he spluttered, taking a deep breath through his oxygen mask. "You mean – Agnes and Anne…"

"Yes. Someone killed them both and we … we expect that the same someone slipped you cyanide."

"Someone tried to kill me?" Alf said slowly. "I thought it was just a practical joke gone wrong. Y'know, whoever did it wanted to give me a ticky tummy for a few days."

Nikki took his wrinkled hand on top of the blankets. "I'm sorry, Alf. I know this is a lot to take in."

"Do you know who done it?" he asked shakily.

"Not yet," she told him. "But you're safe here. Can you remember what happened?"

"No," Alf said, shaking his head. "I woke up all right. Went down and had my breakfast, then into the lounge. One minute I was playing Scrabble, the next thing I know I'm waking up in here."

"Nothing unusual happened? You didn't have anything different from anybody else for breakfast?" Nikki probed.

"No, because Katy next to me had the exact same thing. There were muffins in the lounge – but everyone had one. I might have had two, but sneaking an extra muffin isn't going to kill me, is it?" he asked worriedly.

Nikki smiled. "No, that wouldn't kill you."

"Good, because I've been doing that all my life," he winked.

Laughing, Nikki got to her feet. "I'll leave you to get some rest," she said, not missing how tired he was. "The police will be by this afternoon to take a formal statement from you."

As she turned to leave, Alfred said, "If you're undercover, does that mean that you and Harry aren't actually married?"

"Nope," she said with a smile. "We're just friends and colleagues."

Alfred snorted derisively. "Nikki, love, I've seen the way you two look at each other. You can't act that. Trust me when I tell you, you're more than friends."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's taken me longer than usual to upload this chapter, I've been revising like crazy. Oh, bring on the summer...<strong>

**There's not actually that much of this left now... Probably only two or three chapters, depending on how I choose to end it. ;)**

**xxx**


	11. London's Burning

**Chapter Eleven: **London's Burning

"Have you heard anything about Alf?" was the first question that Edie asked Nikki the next morning, her eyes wide and fearful.

"He's doing well," she smiled. "I saw him yesterday."

"He is?" Edie said, relief written across her face. "Oh thank goodness."

"I'm sure he'll be back before you know it," Nikki continued.

"I hope so," said Edie quietly. "For a little while I thought I had lost him, which is silly really, because we haven't even found each other yet."

A rush of grief hit Nikki, a kind of breathtaking pain that she hadn't felt in a long time, as she remembered that fateful trip to Hungary.

"Nikki, dear? Are you all right?" Edie asked, pulling Nikki back to the present.

Forcing a smile onto her face, she said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'd better get on."

She left Edie sitting with a book and strode from the lounge and along the corridors, not stopping until she reached the staffroom. It was empty, as she knew it would be mid-shift, and she leant her forehead against the cool metal of the lockers.

It had been over a year ago now, the scars had healed; but it was at times like this that they would still sting, almost as if they were reminding Nikki that they would always be there. Never letting her move on, never letting her forget. Anything that remotely resembled a long-term relationship had been non-existent in her life since Hungary. She told herself that it was because she'd never met the right guy, but even in her denial she wasn't that naïve. Leo had heard her say 'one day we'd come to our senses', and still a little part of her believed it to be true. A very small part, admittedly, yet it was enough to put her off dating entirely. Always had been, really.

"Nikki?" came a voice from the doorway, making her jump and look around. Harry was stood there, approaching her slowly, concern etched on his face. "Edie said you disappeared. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, as brightly as possible. "I just needed some space."

It was clear from his face that he didn't believe her. "You know you can tell me anything, don't you?" he said, now stood right beside her.

"I know," she nodded, giving him a small smile. "And I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Yeah, well. I'd be pretty lost without you too," he told her, and the sincerity in his eyes made her stomach flutter.

"We should get back to work," she said begrudgingly.

"You'd tell me if it was anything serious though, wouldn't you?" he asked worriedly, catching her arm as she made to leave the room.

"Of course I would," she assured him, and she meant it. "I'm okay, I promise."

As they walked back to the lounge, Harry said, "I'm going to stay behind after our shift tonight and talk to Jordan. I can't shake off the feeling that there's something he's not telling me."

"Okay. Do you want me to stay as well?" she offered.

"No, no. You go home and get dinner on the go. It shouldn't take long. Take the car with you."

"I'll walk," she said, shaking her head. "It's only fifteen minutes on foot, and if you're coming home later then you'll need the car."

"Are you sure?" Harry frowned. "It will be dark."

Nikki tutted, although she was touched by his concern. "Yes, but it'll only be six o'clock. I can look after myself, Harry."

"I know. Fine, I'll take the car," he conceded with a sigh. They had reached the lounge again and paused momentarily outside the door.

"See you at lunch?" she asked hopefully, but Harry shook his head.

"We're on different lunch breaks today. Don't you look at the rota?" he smirked.

"Oh," she said, disappointed, "So I won't see you until tonight then."

"Probably not. I won't be too late, all right? Crack open the wine," he grinned. "There's … er – there's something I want to talk to you about tonight."

"Talk to me about what?" she said, perplexed.

"Tonight," he told her with a wink. "I'll see you later."

He disappeared and Nikki returned to the lounge, her head buzzing with thoughts about what he could possibly want to talk to her about.

**. . .**

When six o'clock arrived, however, all thoughts of Harry were wiped from her mind. Walking down the stone steps outside the building, buttoning up her coat against the bitterly cold air, someone called her name.

"Nikki Toulson? It is Nikki, right?"

Turning on the spot, Nikki saw Julie, Edie's daughter, approaching her.

"Yep, that's me," Nikki smiled.

"Can I talk to you?" Julie asked, and Nikki could see anxiety written on her face. "I mean, you're new here so you don't have any ties with the rest of the staff. No one's got you under their thumb yet."

"You can trust me," Nikki said, her curiosity piqued. "What's wrong?"

"Not here," Julie said, glancing around nervously.

Frowning, Nikki said, "Okay. Let's go back to mine. We can talk on the way."

They crossed the car park and walked along the road beyond in silence for a good ten minutes. Eventually, Julie said, "I suppose I owe you an apology, Nikki."

"What for?"

There was a pause, and then she said, "My husband always jokes that I'm one of those people you have to get to know to like. I don't come across very well initially. So I'm sorry if I seemed a little abrupt with you."

Briefly considering that that was the understatement of the year, Nikki let it go. She wasn't one to hold grudges. "It's okay," she laughed.

"I just want what's best for my mother," Julie said, seemingly relieved that Nikki had accepted her apology.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"There are certain people that I don't trust at Lakeview. People that I'm worried will try and hurt my mother."

They turned the corner into Nikki's road, and she said, "Who?"

"Nurse Caroline Jenkins, for a start," Julie murmured, and Nikki raised her eyebrows. Maybe Caroline wasn't so innocent after all.

"What makes you say that?" she asked, as casually as possible.

"This is going to sound ridiculous, but … I think she might be a murderer. Anne and Agnes…" Julie said, trailing off. She looked at Nikki's face. "You think I'm mad?"

Shaking her head, Nikki said, "No, I don't think you're mad at all."

"She's horrible," Julie spat. "I hate her. From what my mother's told me, she seems really tyrannical and controlling. I don't trust her at all."

"If I'm honest, I don't either," Nikki confessed.

Julie looked exceptionally relieved that someone was on her side. "You don't?"

"No. I don't think she cares much for any of the residents at all."

"Nor do I," Julie agreed.

They had reached Nikki's house. "This is me," she said with a smile.

"I'll get off," said Julie, "Don't want to intrude on your evening."

Brushing away Julie's politeness, Nikki said, "It's fine. Harry won't be home for a while yet."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'll put the kettle on."

They entered the dark house, Nikki flicking on the lights as they crossed into the lounge. A cursory glance around told her that neither she nor Harry had left anything inadvertently lying around that might give away their real identities.

"You have a lovely home," Julie said, smiling at a photograph of Harry and Nikki on the wall.

"Thank you. Sit down and I'll make us some tea," Nikki said, indicating the sofa and then disappearing into the kitchen.

"How long have you lived here?" Julie called from the other room.

"Not long," she replied noncommittally as she filled the kettle with water. She decided to change the subject. "What are you going to do about Caroline? Report her?"

"I don't know. I'm worried that would put my mother in more harm."

"Not if the police can get to Caroline first," Nikki pointed out.

"Yes, but look at what happened to the others."

Dropping tea bags into two mugs, Nikki said, "She can't be allowed to get away with what she did."

"It's all such a mess," she heard Julie sigh, and was greatly inclined to agree with her.

"I know," she said, pouring water on top of the tea bags.

"How's Alfred doing?" Julie asked. "I know how lethal cyanide poisoning can be, it's lucky he's still alive."

"He's doing well," Nikki nodded.

And then the realisation hit her harder than a ton of bricks.

No one at the care home knew what had happened to Alfred. She, Harry and Jordan were the only people who knew that it was cyanide; not the residents, not even the rest of the staff. So the only way that Julie would know was if she was the one who poisoned him.

"Oh God," Nikki breathed, the teaspoon in her hand falling from her limp fingers to the floor with a clang.

"Nikki? Are you all right?" called Julie.

"Fine," she said, her voice shaking. "I'll just be a minute."

This was all a ruse to gain Nikki's trust. Julie didn't suspect Caroline at all, she was just using the general feeling of resentment towards the senior care worker. And now she'd managed to lure Nikki back here to – to what? To kill her?

Grabbing her mobile phone with quivering hands, she dialled Harry's number, pressed call, and then slipped the device back into her pocket. Picking up the mugs of tea, Nikki then walked slowly back into the lounge. Whatever she did, she couldn't let Julie know that she was onto her.

"Here you go," she said, putting the cups onto the coffee table.

"Nikki, your hands are shaking," Julie said, and for the first time all evening Nikki could see the malice shining in her eyes.

"I'm just cold," she said, perching on the edge of the armchair, as far away as possible from where Julie was sitting on the sofa.

"Oh, I have a question," Julie said, with the air of someone watching a mildly interesting TV show. "How does well-respected forensic pathologist Doctor Nikki Alexander become a nurse in a care home?"

Nikki's stomach clenched, her mouth suddenly becoming very dry. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you do," Julie sneered, and Nikki found her sudden change in personality quite unnerving. "I know all about you, Nikki. I saw you at Anne's crime scene, so imagine my surprise when a few days later you started serving tea to my mother. Naturally, I did some research. You're thirty-six years old, unmarried, no kids. You actually live about twenty minutes in the opposite direction to Lakeview, and your 'husband' is your colleague, Harry Cunningham. You're all quite well-known at the Lyell Centre."

Swallowing hard, Nikki could only hope that Harry was listening on the other end of the phone. Whether he was or not, she knew that she had to keep Julie talking.

"You killed Anne, didn't you?" she said quietly, on edge at Julie's apparent casualness.

"She put salt in my mother's coffee!" Julie said angrily, and Nikki was reminded of the first time she has spoken to Edie's daughter. "It made her sick!"

"That's not a reason to kill someone. It was an accident," she rebuked.

"It's not just that. I'd been poisoning Agnes, trying to make her back away from my mother and their stupid infatuation with Jack. My mother didn't love him. She just wanted to beat Agnes and prove that she _could_ have Jack if she wanted to. Anyway, Anne found out."

"So you strangled her and pushed her down the stairs?" Nikki exclaimed.

"Yes. But of course, Agnes had to go and see, so as soon as I could I killed her too."

"You whacked her around the head with a walking stick and pushed a grandfather clock on top of her," Nikki said. "She was a frail old woman. How could you do that?"

"She couldn't be trusted not to say anything," Julie shrugged.

"And what about Alfred? What on earth had he done to hurt you and your mother?"

"Well, I'd been right about Jack, Mother didn't love him; it was all about the chase. But then she drops the bombshell that she has fallen for Alfred." Julie's eyes flashed with fury. "My father's hardly cold in his grave. How can she disrespect him like that?"

"Alf makes her happy. You said that you've done all this so that she's happy, so why try and get rid of the one person who makes her so?"

"She's not allowed to be happy with anyone other than my father. More than fifty years they were married. It's not right. So I made some muffins and used the same strategy as I did with Agnes. I gave one to everyone, but I spiked one of them with cyanide and made this pretence to Alfred about how I had one left and he could have it."

"Except he didn't die, did he? You failed," Nikki pointed out triumphantly.

"Yes, well … I obviously got my dosage wrong."

Fear gripping Nikki's chest, she said, "Why are you telling me all this?"

A malicious smile crept across Julie's face. "Why? Because in a minute you'll be dead too."

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter probably wasn't as good as it could have been. My brain's in revision mode at the moment. ;)<strong>

**xxx**


	12. Cut Off Their Tails with a Carving Knife

**Chapter 12: **Cut Off Their Tails with a Carving Knife

Scrambling to her feet, Nikki backed away from Julie, who was slowly walking towards her.

"You won't be able to get away with it," she said, her breaths coming in deep gasps. "People saw us leave."

"Oh, don't you worry your pretty little blonde head about that, Nikki," Julie laughed, though there was no humour in her eyes.

"Harry's going to be home any minute," Nikki continued, desperately willing that to be true. She didn't even know if he was listening on the other end of the phone, let alone coming to her help.

"We'd better not waste any more time then," Julie said, and lunged forward. She was a good few inches taller and far more thickset than Nikki's slight frame. Kicking out frantically, Nikki was no match the bigger woman. Julie soon had her pinned to the floor and was sitting on her stomach so that she couldn't escape, while Nikki fought and writhed and tried to push her away with all her might, but it was no good. Reaching into her handbag by the coffee table, Julie pulled out a roll of thick silver tape and a Stanley knife.

Crying in fear, Nikki could do nothing as Julie bound her wrists together with the tape over her head. A cruel smile crept across her face as she looked down at Nikki, vulnerable and helpless on the floor. "Goodbye, Nikki Alexander," she said quietly, extending the blade of the knife to its full length.

A sob escaped Nikki's lips as she felt the cool metal of the blade touch the underside of her exposed forearm. She knew in that moment that Julie wasn't going to make this easy. It was going to be drawn out and painful, and she briefly wished that Julie could have knocked her out or something first. The second thought that ran through her head was just how stupid she was, to walk straight into a killer's trap. Then she thought of Harry, and of Leo, and of everyone else that she didn't want to leave behind. And that thought? That was excruciating.

"Please," she begged through her tears. But Julie was no longer interested in conversation. She was teasing the knife up and down Nikki's arms – not applying enough pressure for it to break the skin, but enough so that she knew it was there.

And then there was a shooting, terrible pain in her left wrist, swiftly followed by something warm and sticky trickling onto the carpet – blood. A piercing, torturous, anguished scream left Nikki's lips, the tears falling from her cheeks into her hair. She screwed her eyes up tight, determined not to give Julie the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

Suddenly, there was an almighty crash, followed by a lot of shouting, and the pressure of Julie's body was lifted from Nikki's torso. Hysterical, Nikki pushed herself into a sitting position, her wrists still bound together. Then she looked up. Harlow and half a dozen uniformed police officers were restraining a frenzied Julie, who was waving around the blood covered knife.

Behind the crowd, Harry pushed his way past the police. The worry and fear in his expression took her breath away. He spotted her, his face crumpling, and fell to the floor beside her where he gently tore the tape off her wrists and gathered her into his arms. She sobbed into his shoulder, the pain in her arm swallowed by the sheer relief that consumed her. "I – thought – you – weren't – coming," she cried, in between shuddering breaths.

"I know, I'm sorry," he whispered, stroking her hair.

"I didn't want to die," she muttered.

"It's all right, you're safe now," he told her. "I've got you. You're safe now."

"Nikki?"

Nikki looked up to see Harlow gazing down at her. "The paramedics are on their way," he told her. "You should go to hospital and get that cut stitched up."

Wiping her eyes with the back of her hands, it was only then that Nikki noticed the blood still trickling down to the crook of her elbow. Promising to be straight back, Harry ran into the kitchen and then appeared a moment later with a tea towel, which he pressed against Nikki's arm to stop the bleeding.

"Harry," Harlow continued, clearly aware that Nikki wasn't paying much attention. "You know this house is a crime scene now. You can't come back here tonight. You'll have to go home."

The paramedics came bustling in, pushing Harry out of the way. "I'll pack a bag of our things," he told her quickly. "We can come back and get the rest tomorrow."

"Nikki, we'll need to take a statement from you," Harlow told her over the heads of the paramedics. "Can you come down to the station tomorrow afternoon? When you're ready?"

She nodded, in too much of a daze to say anything. The paramedics were putting a temporary dressing on her arm and then they cautiously helped her to her feet. As they were leading her into the dark, cold street outside, Harry caught up with them, a large holdall in one hand.

"I'll drive behind the ambulance," he told her, giving her a reassuring smile. "See you in a few minutes."

They weren't far from the hospital, and with the lights on the ambulance it took them no time at all to get there. She wasn't entirely certain that she was emergent enough for sirens, at least she hoped she wasn't, but she was grateful for the speed. She just wanted to go home. Once they arrived, she was wheeled into a cubicle and a young male doctor appeared, smiling at her. The paramedics informed him what had happened, told Nikki to take care and then disappeared. The doctor introduced himself as Robert Gibson, told her to stay still, and then started cleaning the wound on her arm.

Part of her must still be in shock, she reasoned. Because she almost felt as if she was watching the proceedings from behind a television screen; nothing felt real anymore. Doctor Gibson was speaking, but she wasn't taking any of it in.

The curtain was whipped back and a panic-stricken Harry came rushing in, standing beside her bed and grasping his hand in hers. She heard him introduce himself to the doctor and they briefly discussed what had happened, then Gibson talked directly to her.

"I'm going to have to stitch this, Nikki," he said, slowly and clearly. "It's too deep for glue or steri-strips, I'm afraid."

"Fine," she said, surprised at how rough her voice sounded. Harry was watching her, his expression a mixture of concern and relief. He told her to squeeze his hand while Gibson was stitching up her arm, but she was pretty sure that his grip was tighter than hers. Once he'd wrapped a bright white bandage around the wound and she'd signed some forms, she was free to go.

"I'm not an invalid, Harry," she muttered as he put his arm around her waist on their way out of the hospital.

"I know," he said, sounding semi-amused.

"I just want to go home," she said. "_Home_ home. Back to my apartment."

"Not tonight you're not," he told her firmly.

"What? But Harlow said-"

Harry interrupted her. "You're coming home with me. Don't even think about arguing."

"Harry," she tried. "I'm perfectly capable of being on my own."

They stopped just outside the doors of the hospital. Shrugging off his jacket, Harry dropped it around her shoulders, holding it together in front of her stomach. "I know," he said again. "But for once, will you just let me look after you?"

He gave her an exasperated smile and she could feel herself giving in. "Fine," she conceded as they walked over to the car. "I'm too tired to argue."

"Good," he grinned, opening the car door for her.

**. . .**

Nikki snapped her eyes open. She was tucked up in bed – Harry's bed. Or, the bed in his spare room. She was still fully clothed and judging by the pitch-blackness outside it was the middle of the night. The last thing she remembered was getting into the car after the hospital. Concluding that she must have fallen asleep, Nikki then realised that Harry had most likely carried her all the way into here.

She sat up, her head pounding, and spotted the pile of clothes at the end of the bed. It was her pyjamas and Harry's sweatshirt that she'd been wearing all week. Smiling sleepily, she climbed out of bed and got changed, glad that the surrounding gloom concealed the bloodstains on her top from view. It was a relief to put on her pyjamas and remove all evidence of what had happened just earlier that evening, even more so when the jumper covered her bandaged arm.

Leaving the bedroom, she was met by darkness again. Clearly, Harry was also in bed. Figuring that after the week they'd had it wouldn't be considered weird, she crept up to his bedroom and slowly opened the door.

Expecting him to be in bed fast asleep, what she actually saw made her stomach twist into knots. Like the rest of the apartment, there wasn't a single light on in his bedroom. But the moonlight through the window illuminated his silhouette. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He appeared to be in his pyjamas, but his unmade bed signalled that he clearly hadn't got any sleep.

Startled, he looked up as she entered, and even with the lack of light she could see the fatigue and – although she could have been imagining it – tears reflected in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked thickly.

"Are you?" she replied quietly, crossing the room and sitting beside him.

"Yeah," he said, but she was sure that his forced smile was purely for her benefit.

Biting her lip nervously, she asked, "Can I sleep in here tonight?"

"Of course," he nodded. She shuffled backwards onto the other side of the bed and then climbed under the covers. A moment later and Harry joined her. "But," he continued, slightly apprehensively. "You know we're not Mr and Mrs Toulson anymore. They're gone now. We're us again; Harry Cunningham and Nikki Alexander."

She thought about it for a moment, then tugged him closer so that her head was on his chest. "I know," she said simply.

They lay like that for a while, content with each other's company, until Harry whispered, "I should have got there sooner, I'm sorry."

"Don't be silly," she scolded.

"I got your phone call just as I finished talking to Jordan. It took me a little while to work out what was going on. As soon as I did I ran back inside to use a phone to ring Harlow. I didn't want to end the connection of your call," he told her, and she could hear the pain in his voice. "I put you on handsfree in the car, so that I could hear everything. I was driving as quickly as I could. When I heard you screaming…"

He trailed off, shaking his head slightly. "Hey, I'm still here, aren't I?" she said soothingly, placing a hand on his stomach.

"I wish we still had the death penalty," he spat bitterly.

"No you don't," Nikki told him calmly. "That would be too easy. Let her rot in jail for the rest of her life. It's Edie I feel sorry for."

"We should visit her from time to time," Harry said. "And Alf and all of the others."

"Yeah, I'd like that," she smiled. "But for now, please can we just sleep?"

They settled down and Nikki let her eyes flicker shut. But before sleep could overwhelm her, Harry said quietly, "I was so scared when I thought I was going to be too late."

It took all her willpower not to start crying again. "You know this morning when I said that I didn't know what I'd do without you?" she whispered. "Well, I really, _really_ meant it."

* * *

><p><strong>Because you were all so very lovely in your reviews and asked for the next chapter as quickly as possible. I hope it lives up to your expectations... <strong>

**Oh, and this isn't the end. Very nearly, but not quite yet. ;)**

**xxx**


	13. The Owl and the Pussycat Went to Sea

**Chapter 13: **The Owl and the Pussycat Went to Sea

Nikki knew that she should be asleep. Now that she was home – back in her apartment, home – there was nothing for her to miss anymore. Normality had returned once again. She had everything; her apartment, her bed, her belongings and the prospect of work the next day. _Almost_ everything. Because the one thing that she wanted more than anything else in that moment, was Harry. But he wasn't here anymore. He'd gone back to his own life. Back to reality. And she hated it.

So she was curled up on the sofa in her bedroom, watching as the clock on her wall ticked ever closer to two in the morning. Rain was pattering against the window panes, the streetlamps outside projecting a speckled pattern on the wall. It was cold, and she instantly missed Harry's jumper. The cut on her arm was stinging mildly, enough to remind her that it was there.

She'd had a busy day. Together, her and Harry had spent most of the morning removing their belongings from their fake house and back into their respective apartments. Then they'd had lunch with Leo and Janet, who had been worried sick when they had heard what had happened, and filled them in on every little detail of the past week. Harlow took her statement from her that afternoon. It was horrible, reliving it all again, but Harry had been sitting right beside her and somehow that had given her the strength to keep talking. The detective had then informed them that they'd found the cyanide and the anti-Parkinson's drug, Pramipexole, that she'd been stealing from Lakeview's pharmacy to poison Agnes, in Julie's house. They had enough concrete evidence to send her down for a very long time. On their departure from the police station she'd hugged Harry very tightly for a very long time, just relieved that it was all over and thankful that when she'd needed him he'd been there for her, just as he always was. Then, just as the hug started getting awkward, she'd asked him to drive her home. She'd spent the rest of the evening feeling inexplicably lonely, with part of her wishing that they could go back to being undercover. And it wasn't for the thrill, or the experience, but for the fake marriage with her best friend.

Somehow, over the past week, she had fallen in love him. She wouldn't be so foolish as to assume that her feelings only just developed a few days ago, but that was definitely when she realised that they were there. The prospect of burying them again was almost too much to bear, but equally the idea of telling Harry was laughable. All week he'd been reminding her about how they were soon going to be going home; never once did he express any desire to stay any longer in their fake life.

Her mobile phone had been pressed into her palm since she'd returned, in the vain hope that he would call or text her. But he hadn't, which had only proved to Nikki that she was right: he couldn't be more pleased to be home.

And then there was a knock at the door. She froze momentarily, but it didn't take a genius to work out who it would be. A flicker of hope ignited in her stomach. There was another, slightly louder knock as she padded across her bedroom and into the lounge. Flicking on a lamp, she could clearly see his silhouette through the frosted glass. Standing before the door, she found the need to take a deep breath before opening it.

There he was. Stood on her doorstep, a slightly troubled expression on his face with hair that was sticking on end and jeans hastily thrown on with his pyjama t-shirt. She briefly considered that he must be freezing, but he crossed the threshold and entered her apartment before she could say anything. Following slowly, they stood facing each other.

Her whole world seemed to shift a little as his eyes connected with hers and he looked at her in that way that she liked to think was reserved especially for her; when he let his defences down and they

were both confronted with the magnitude of raw emotion concealed beneath.

"I – I went home," he said, slowly and quietly, as though physically struggling with the words, "and I was in bed half-asleep and I just … I reached out my arm. For you. But you weren't there. And at first I couldn't work out why, but then I remembered that I was home now and we didn't have to keep up the whole façade anymore; the pretence that we're married and in love and happy. But, Nikki-"

Nikki's breath hitched as he stepped right into her personal space. Every particle of her body was tingling with anticipation. When he started talking again, his voice was no more than a whisper.

"What if it stopped being make-believe days ago?"

She almost had to pinch herself to make sure that she was actually awake and this wasn't her subconscious playing cruel tricks on her. But when Harry's fingers started dancing across the thin fabric of her pyjama top that covered her hips and his head drew closer, she knew that the sensation of her skin being on fire, the feeling of electricity tickling her spine and butterflies filling her stomach couldn't be imagined. Her fingers were playing with the hair on the nape of his neck. He was so close now that she could feel his breath on her cheek. Wasting no more time, she crashed her lips against his.

His lips were rough and gentle all at the same time; his fingers were running through her hair and he was pushing her backwards against the wall. Expertly, he seemed to pick up on what she liked almost instantly; she supposed it was clichéd, what with it being Harry, but he was the best kisser of all the guys she'd been with. An inevitable groan escaped her lips as he deepened the kiss, and this time it was so much different to last time. Last time they had been undercover and the whole kiss had been mingled with confusion and apprehension. But this time – no, this time Nikki could feel nothing but anticipation and excitement and love.

They kissed for a while, neither one of them wanting it all to be over too soon. Their hands were exploring each other's bodies over – and occasionally under – their clothes. The figure and lines of his torso was something she knew very well, having been held against it enough times, but feeling his bare skin underneath and the heat radiating off of him was something else entirely.

Eventually, Nikki began to grow impatient. She pulled Harry's t-shirt over his head and placed her palms gently on his chest. They broke apart momentarily, resting their foreheads against each other to regain some much needed oxygen. Smiling at her, Harry pressed his lips to hers again and then pulled them both away from the wall. Just as Harry's fingers deftly travelled up her back underneath her top, she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and he staggered backwards into the back of her sofa. Attempting to regain his balance, he moaned when Nikki trailed kisses across his jaw.

"Bedroom," she breathed in his ear, kissing his hairline up to his temple and then back down to his lips. Blindly, Harry stumbled in the direction of where he'd been told to go. It didn't escape either of them that this couldn't be more different to the last time he carried her into her bedroom.

He dropped her onto her king size bed and then climbed on top of her, kissing her neck. She moaned when he hit a sensitive spot and he bit down gently, causing her to gasp with pleasure. Deciding that he was wearing too many clothes, she pushed his jeans down his legs. He did the same with her pyjama bottoms, and then teasingly took off her top. Soon, they were both in nothing but their underwear.

Harry stopped kissing her at this point, before they went any further, and gazed down at her with a smile on his face.

"What?" she quizzed, her fingers buried in his hair.

"You drive me crazy, you know that?" he told her matter-of-factly. "You're a right pain in the neck. I'm always worrying about you. I'm nearly one hundred percent certain that you go looking for trouble. But … I bloody love you, Nikki Alexander, and I have this terrible premonition that I always will."

A giggle escaped her lips, which escalated into a laugh as he poked her in the side and made her squirm beneath him. She kissed him again, murmuring against his lips, "I love you, too."

**. . .**

"What are you thinking about?" Nikki murmured sometime later as they lay in each other's arms, satisfied and exhausted.

"How amazing that was," he chuckled. "You?"

"This moment, right now," she whispered, tracing random patterns on his chest as she looked up at him. "Me and you. How I can see the moonlight reflected in your eyes, and how your fingers running up and down my arm is the nicest feeling in the world, and how I never thought I could be as happy as I am now, because I've fallen in love with my best friend and it's wonderful."

There was silence for a moment, and then Harry muttered, "That was far more poetic than what I said."

Giggling, she kissed him quickly and then said, "So maybe I was thinking about the incredible sex as well."

"I knew it," he grinned triumphantly.

Letting her head fall against his chest, Nikki listened to his heart beating for a while. It was slow and methodical, comforting and reassuring because he was there and he was with her. Gently stroking her hair, Harry said, "You're so beautiful, you do realise that?"

"You're not so bad yourself," she smiled.

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said about me," he joked.

Suddenly remembering something, Nikki said, "What were you going to tell me?"

"What?"

"Yesterday morning at Lakeview," she explained. "You said you were going to talk to me over dinner. What was it about?"

There was silence for a moment, and then Harry said carefully, "It doesn't matter."

"Harry…"

"Look, we're together now and we're happy, aren't we? Let's not ruin this moment. It really doesn't matter what I was or wasn't going to tell you," he said placatingly.

Not entirely satisfied with this answer, Nikki did know that he was right about one thing: she didn't want to ruin the moment. "Will you tell me eventually?" she asked, knowing that she'd never be able to let it go entirely.

"Maybe," he nodded, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "We should get some sleep," he sighed softly. "We have to be up in a couple of hours for work."

Biting her lip, she said, "We should tell Leo about us, shouldn't we?"

"Probably. He'd only work it out; you know what he's like."

"I'm sure he orchestrated the whole undercover thing in the first place to try and bring us together," she laughed.

"Yes, I've thought that since the beginning. But it worked though, didn't it?"

Closing her eyes, Nikki smiled sleepily. "I suppose."

**. . .**

"We're going to be late for work," Harry pointed out the next morning as they were having a shower together.

"Oh, I don't care," she grinned, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as the warm water streamed over them.

"You're insatiable," he chucked against her lips, dancing his fingers across her bare back.

"I don't exactly see you complaining," murmured Nikki.

"I'm not. But I am saying that we need to stop off at my place on the way to work so that I can get some clothes."

Grinning, Nikki pulled away and stepped out of the shower.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked in shock, sticking his head out after her.

"Well, we wouldn't want to be late," she said in mock seriousness, tightly wrapping a thick fluffy towel around her body and then exiting the bathroom. A second later and Harry appeared in the doorway, a towel around his own waist.

"I can't believe-" he muttered, and suddenly chased after her.

She squealed loudly as his strong arms encircled her waist, pulling her against him for a moment before he lifted her from the floor and dropped her onto the bed. They were both laughing loudly as he climbed over her, pressing a kiss to her nose which made her crinkle it in a way that Harry muttered he found adorable.

Their laughter subsided and they both just looked at each other for a moment, grins still on their faces.

"I love you," Harry said.

"I know," she smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>I was actually really nervous about posting this chapter. You've all been so lovely in your reviews and begging me to get them together for so long that I didn't want to disappoint you all. I'm not particularly happy with the ending, but c'est la vie. <strong>

**I also really don't want to finish this! I'm toying with the idea of extending it by a few chapters, just with some aimless fluff and a small plotline revolving around what Harry was going to tell Nikki if she hadn't been attacked … But I don't want to drag it out. Better to quit while ahead, and all that. I may just leave it up to you guys. Let me know if you want more, and I will comply. :)**

**Oh, and the next chapter won't be until the weekend, at least. I have my first exam tomorrow, History, and seeing as that is what I want to do at uni in September my whole future hangs on the grade of that exam. No pressure, or anything. ;)**

**xxx**


	14. Red Sky at Night

**Chapter Fourteen: **Red Sky at Night

Wrapping her gloved hands around the cold, still heart of a dead man on the slab in front of her, Nikki carefully extracted it from the body and held it up to eye level just as the doors opened at the other end of the cutting room and Harry walked in.

"There's something so beautiful about the heart, isn't there?" she asked rhetorically, gazing at it. "The way such a small organ has the power to keep our whole body going. Or not, in this guy's case. Coronary artery is completely blocked off. He must have had a massive myocardial infarction. More commonly known, of course, as a heart attack." She smiled at Harry, who had ground to a halt on the other side of the slab.

"You're so bloody morbid," he said, causing her to giggle.

"I've missed this!" she said defensively. "You're just jealous because Leo's got you doing paperwork."

"Paperwork which I have come to do down here," he said, signalling to the pile of folders under his arm. "Leo's having a row with the DI on his latest case up there and I can't concentrate."

Frowning, Nikki said, "A row about what?" as she passed a biopsy of liver to Zak.

"I don't know really," Harry shrugged, "I couldn't hear what they were saying clearly."

Clearing his throat, Zak said, "Leo can't give Narks a definitive cause of death so Narks, annoyed, isn't letting Leo have full involvement with the case."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked, looking mildly impressed.

"Because they've been having the same argument for days," Zak said, rolling his eyes. "Leo's been in an atrocious mood. I think he missed you two as well. We all did." He smiled.

Mockingly, Harry narrowed his eyes and said, "What are you after? A pay rise? Because it's not us you have to creep around."

Nikki giggled while Zak grinned slightly and said, "It's just good to have you back. Anyway, I'll go and get this to toxicology."

He disappeared from the room and Nikki stepped back from the slab, peeling off her gloves. "I guess this means we shouldn't tell Leo about us yet," she muttered nervously to Harry, who was clearing a space to work next to a sink at the side of the room.

"Why not? It might cheer him up."

"Or push him over the edge. What if his bad mood elevates his disapproval and he hates us forever?" she asked worriedly.

To her surprise, Harry laughed. He stopped what he was doing, turned to face her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "He is not going to hate us," he said assuredly. "Far from it. He'll probably be relieved more than anything else."

"But-"

"Nikki, stop worrying," he told her, and briefly pressed his lips to hers. "We'll persuade him out for drinks tonight and tell him then, it will be fine."

"Okay," she conceded, permitting Harry to kiss her again. When they broke apart she ran a hand through his hair, a small smile on her lips. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"Oh, I know," he grinned smugly and she slapped his chest with a tut.

"Do your work," she ordered, the corners of her lips twitching.

"Yes, Ma'am," he said with a mock salute, winking at her as she laughed.

**. . .**

"Fancy coming out for a drink, Leo?" Harry asked as he and Nikki walked into their boss's office that evening.

"I can't, sorry," Leo said apologetically, buttoning up his coat, "Janet's cooking me a meal."

Shooting an apprehensive glance at Harry, Nikki said, "Well then, can we talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course," Leo smiled, setting down his briefcase and looking between them. "Nothing's wrong, is it?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Harry said quickly. "Far from it, in fact."

"All right, what then?"

Harry put his arm around Nikki's shoulder and tugged her against him, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Nikki watched as the realisation crashed over Leo's face, his mouth falling open and his eyes widening.

"You two are-? At last, you're-?" he said, seemingly unable to string a coherent sentence together.

"Together, yes," Harry said, smiling.

"Wh-when?"

"Last night. Well, early hours of this morning," Nikki told him.

"This is – This is … Well, it's a miracle, that's what this is!" Leo spluttered, but a smile was rapidly spreading across his face. "Finally! Congratulations!"

"You're not angry?" Nikki asked quietly.

"Angry? Why on earth would I be angry?" he laughed. "I'd almost given up hope waiting for this moment! Ha, there's going to be a lot of money changing hands tomorrow when everyone else finds out."

"What?" Harry asked weakly, half-outraged and half-amused.

"Can I ask you something?" Leo continued. "Was this as a result of you being undercover together?"

"That was a major contributing factor, yes," Nikki nodded.

A triumphant laugh escaped Leo's mouth, "Excellent. That means Zak owes me fifty pounds."

"You've all been betting on us? All this time?"

"Well, everyone else has. I only joined in last week while you were away," he grinned. "So, come on then? How did it happen? Which one of you initiated things?"

Nikki giggled, her cheeks blushing scarlet. Beside her, Harry cringed slightly and said, "Don't you have to be getting home to Janet?"

Glancing at his watch, Leo said, "Yes, I do. But this does not mean you're off the hook. I did not wait all these years just for a brush off, an 'it-doesn't-matter'. Tomorrow, we'll all go out for drinks. Janet included. Oh, wait until I tell Janet!"

He bustled excitedly out of his office, leaving a slightly dumbstruck Harry and Nikki behind. The pair turned to look at each other and simultaneously laughed.

"Well, that went better than I thought it would," she said.

"I told you," Harry grinned. He outstretched his hand. "Come on, let's go back to mine."

"Can we stop off at my place first so that I can get some things?" Nikki asked as they put on their coats and gathered their bags.

"Of course. We'll pick up a takeaway, too. Fish and chips?"

**. . .**

With the food eaten and plates cleared away, Harry and Nikki were curled up together on the sofa watching the ten o'clock news. Well, Harry was watching the news; Nikki wasn't paying much attention to it all. All she could think about was whatever Harry was going to tell her if she hadn't been attacked, and – more importantly – why he refused to tell her now. The only conclusion that this led her to was that whatever it was, it was bad news.

"You have to tell me," she blurted out suddenly, unable to help it.

"Tell you what?" Harry asked.

"Whatever it was you were going to tell me the other night!"

"Drop it, Nikki!" he said firmly, pulling away from her and leaning forward to reach his wine glass.

"I don't understand why you won't tell me!" she cried. "We're in a relationship now, Harry. That's what couples do, they tell each other things!"

"It's not important anymore," he insisted, getting to his feet and turning the television off. "Can't we just forget about it and go to bed?"

"No!" she shouted, also standing. "There's no point us being together if you're not going to talk to me. I mean, what is this to you, Harry? Is it just about the sex? Friends with benefits or something? Because I'm not doing that."

Harry looked utterly baffled. He stepped towards her and took her hands in his. "Of course not!" he exclaimed. "I told you that I loved you! I haven't said that to anyone in a long time. Not since I met you, which should tell you something."

Nikki's face crumpled. "So why won't you tell me?" she asked again, more softly this time.

Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, Harry said, "Because I promise you it doesn't matter anymore. You have to stop worrying about it."

"How can I stop worrying about it?" she said desperately. "How can I, when I keep imagining all these different scenarios? Like you're really ill, or you're still hung up on some other woman, or you're leaving-"

A muscle twitched in Harry's jaw. Nikki's eyes widened. "You're leaving?"

"No," he said quickly. "Harlow mentioned my name to someone, who mentioned my name to someone else, who mentioned my name to someone else and so on, and I had an email from Cambridge University asking me to be part of their research team. I said no."

"But you must have been thinking about it. That's why you wanted to talk to me," she realised, in shock slightly.

"Nikki, you have to understand that I explicitly told them no."

"But you were tempted?"

Clearly deliberating for a moment, Harry eventually said, "Initially, yes. But then you were attacked and I realised that if I was in Cambridge then who would be here to save your life?" He smiled at her, but Nikki didn't even notice.

"I stopped you going? Oh God, I'm one of those clingy women who won't let their boyfriends go anywhere or do anything," she muttered.

"No, you're not," Harry assured her. "I've turned down job offers in the past, haven't I? Before we were together."

Nikki scoffed at him and they both understood the unspoken meaning: would he still have turned them down if she hadn't been working at the Lyell Centre? If they'd never met?

Placing his hands either side of her face, Harry said quietly, "Is it so wrong that perhaps you did stop me going? That I won't even consider a life without you in it? I love you, and I'm not about to throw what we have away just for some job that pays more or gives me my own office."

"At least I wouldn't be able to take your desk," she muttered with a sad smile.

"Ooh, I didn't think of that. I hope I've still got the guy's email address…" He winked at Nikki and she laughed slightly. "Come on," he continued. "I've told you what it was, I've told you it wasn't important, now can we please just go to bed? I'm tired, it's not like I slept much last night."

"Wait a minute," Nikki said, tugging at his arm as he went to walk away. "Promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Don't ever not tell me things again, okay?" she asked in a whisper, aware of just how vulnerable and pathetic she sounded.

He looked her right in the eye, his gaze unwavering. "I promise." A smile graced her lips; the honesty shining in his eyes meant that she couldn't not believe him. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of his bedroom. "You coming?"

Slipping her fingers through his, she said, "Of course."

They got changed and climbed into bed as if it was a habit; something they had done every day for years. Somehow, it felt so natural that the pair of them just slipped into the routine immediately. There was no thought given to permit any awkwardness as she pulled herself against Harry, resting her head on his chest. It was like the previous week all over again, only this time they were allowed to be close to each other.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Harry Cunningham," she whispered into the darkness. When she received no reply she looked up at Harry, only to be met with the sight of his sleeping form. His lips were parted slightly, his breathing slow and even. He looked totally at peace with the world. Smiling, Nikki lay her head back down and let her own eyes flutter closed.

* * *

><p><strong>I know, I know, it's been far too long since I last updated; exams and life and blah got in the way. But now I have no more college EVER, which means no work until university in the Autumn. So I'm back. :)<strong>

**I'll probably only do one ... possibly two ... more chapters after this one. I don't want to drag it out, but you all asked for more and seeing as you're so lovely in your reviews I can't say no. ;)**

**Oh, I also have a couple of one-shots that I'm working on, which should appear sometime in the foreseeable future. **

**Charlotte  
>xxx <strong>


	15. Happily Ever After

**Chapter Fifteen:** Happily Ever After

The next day passed fairly uneventfully for Nikki; a simple case that was quickly and confidently concluded as a suicide, an enjoyable lunch with Leo - who kept his promise and squeezed every little detail out of her about how she and Harry happened - leaving her with a small amount of paperwork to round off the evening.

It was while Nikki was sitting at her desk, twiddling her pen between her fingers, that she decided to broach with Harry the subject that she'd been wanting to broach ever since they had stopped being undercover.

"Let's go back to Lakeview," she said, breaking the peaceful silence.

Across at his desk, Harry's own pen stopped moving across the paper. He slowly looked up at her. "What?"

"Just to visit. I kind of miss Edie and the others. Don't you?"

"Well, yes," he agreed reluctantly, "but I'm not sure I ever want to set foot in that place again."

"Alf might be home from hospital now," she continued thoughtfully. "It has been nearly a week, and it's not like there aren't medical professionals at Lakeview."

"I suppose," Harry muttered, returning to his report.

"We should say hi to some of the staff as well," Nikki said, to which Harry rolled his eyes.

"Wonderful," he said, but it was clear that he didn't mean it.

Glancing at the clock in the corner of her computer screen, she added, "Let's go tonight."

Putting down his pen, Harry sighed and said, "Oh, this plan just gets better and better."

"What's the matter with you?" Nikki asked shrewdly, slightly irritated by his lack of enthusiasm.

"Nothing!" he protested. "I could just think of better things we could be doing than going back to that hellhole."

"It wasn't that bad," she said reproachfully.

"Oh yeah, okay, the murders were just to liven up the atmosphere," he said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Come on, Harry," she tutted. "Julia was a psychopath. And thanks to us she's been caught and is safely in police custody. The residents and rest of the staff were lovely and so kind to us. We owe them an explanation."

He considered her for a moment, before finally conceding. "All right, we'll stop by on our way home. But we're not staying for long. And I refuse to speak directly to Caroline. The others may have been 'lovely', but she most certainly wasn't."

"Fine," she smiled triumphantly, "Thank you."

Harry shook his head. "I never have been able to say no to you."

Grinning, Nikki said, "I know. Great, isn't it?"

Plucking a pen from the pot on his desk, Harry threw it at her. Giggling, she caught it easily. "Childish," she said.

"Funny though," he replied with a wink.

An hour later and, having bade Leo goodnight, the two of them were walking hand-in-hand down to the car park. They reached Harry's car and climbed in, Nikki shivering slightly in the cold, and were quickly on their way back to Lakeview.

"Are you sure about this?" Harry asked uncertainly as he swung the car into the drive of the care home.

"Yes. Stop moaning."

"I'm not moaning!"

They stepped out into the cold and walked up the stone steps outside the front doors. It seemed like years, or at least months, had passed since the first time she'd gone up them, not just a fortnight.

The foyer was deserted. The clock on the wall told her that they would just be clearing away the dinner things now, and that the residents and staff alike were most likely in the lounge.

"Shouldn't we come back during visiting hours?" Harry asked.

"We're always working during their visiting hours, and there's no way we can ask Leo for more time off. Come on."

They traced the familiar route to the lounge, their footsteps muffled by that thick, deep red carpet that lined the corridors.

Stopping outside the door, on the other side of which Nikki could hear the hustle and bustle of a busy room, she took a deep breath and turned to Harry. "Ready?" she asked him.

"As I'll ever be," was his reply, so she pushed open the door and stepped into the room.

A silence descended at once, followed by a ripple of whispering. Nikki could see Jim and Mary in the corner, Kelly tending to Charlie who had Parkinson's, as well as Caroline at the far end of the room. The only noticeable person missing from the scene was Edie. Everyone was glaring.

Clearing his throat, Harry said, "Hi."

A loud whisper from where Jim was sitting carried easily across the room. "They're the ones who lied, aren't they?"

"About that," Nikki said quickly. "We're here to explain ... and apologise."

Caroline emerged from the shadows in the corner of the room. "We don't want your apologies, Nurse Toulson," she said coolly. "I suppose that's not even your real name?"

"No. Well, my name _is_Nikki. I'm Doctor Nikki Alexander. This is Doctor Harry Cunningham," she said.

"You're not even married?" someone spluttered.

"Er, no," Harry admitted. "Colleagues and good friends."

A slight pang of something hit Nikki when Harry didn't tell everyone that they were together now, but she didn't have time to dwell on it with all the questions being fired at them.

"But you are doctors?" someone probed.

"It's a long story," Harry said with a self-deprecating smile. "Can we sit down?"

The pair of them pulled a couple of comfortable armchairs to the spot where they had been standing, facing the crowd of onlookers. Although clearly slightly angry and suspicious, the staff and residents alike were obviously interested in what Harry and Nikki had to say.

"Do you want to start?" Harry muttered to Nikki, a grin on his face.

Nodding, she turned to look at everyone. "We are doctors, but not the kind that you're thinking of. We have medical degrees, yes, but we're forensic pathologists."

"You're what now?" one of the particularly ancient old ladies asked.

"We give the dead a voice," Harry said clearly. "We look at the body of a dead person and try and work out how they died."

"As you know, there have been a series of tragic incidents here at Lakeview over the past couple of weeks," Nikki continued. "It was initially my job as a pathologist to investigate, with the police, Anne Liu's murder."

"I saw you!" a young nurse exclaimed suddenly. "The day Anne died! Agnes was talking to you, I took her back to her room. I thought I recognised you when you started working here."

"The detective working on the case decided to put Harry and me undercover here," Nikki explained. "To catch the person who killed Anne and Agnes, and who poisoned Alf."

"Has anyone told you what happened?" Harry asked.

Kelly, the kindly nurse who they had met on their first day, spoke up. "News travels fast in this place. We were told that Edie's daughter was responsible. We were also told that she attacked Nikki Sunday night."

Instinctively, Nikki touched her bandaged arm. "Yes," she said quietly. "But the police have Julia locked up, so none of you have anything to worry about anymore."

"Do you understand why we couldn't tell you?" Harry said, leaning forward in his chair, "We wanted to, we hated the pretence, but we couldn't risk the murderer finding out. When Julia did realise the truth she attacked Nikki."

"Which is why we wanted to come and apologise now," Nikki added, "because although we weren't who we said we were, we are very fond of you all."

"We forgive you, dears," Mary smiled. "You probably saved our lives. Who knows what Edie's nutjob daughter would have done next."

Harry chuckled, and general chatter began to fill the room again as everyone returned to what they had been doing. Getting to her feet, Nikki crossed the room to Kelly. "Where's Edie?"

"In Alfred's room," the nurse replied. "He was released from hospital this morning."

"How's she holding up?"

"She says she's okay, you know what Edie's like, but she's not."

"Is it all right if we go and see her?"

"Of course," Kelly smiled, then lowered her voice and added, "You and Harry really aren't married?"

"No, we're not," Nikki said truthfully.

"Well, you played the part very well, that's all I'm going to say. I saw him kiss you in the car park when you arrived that morning a few days ago. I'd be careful if I were you; I don't think there would be many women that would turn that down. I know I wouldn't."

After giving her a strained smile, Nikki went back to where Harry was waiting.

"I assume you were asking about Edie's whereabouts?" he said.

"She's in Alfred's room. He came back this morning. Kelly said we can go up."

Harry led the way out of the room and along the corridor, then up the carpeted stairs. When they reached Alf's room they could see Edie sitting in the chair beside his bed. Alfred himself was propped up in his bed, chatting animatedly. Both of them were holding hands.

Cautiously knocking, Nikki waited until Edie nodded and then pushed open the door.

They were met with a much better atmosphere than downstairs. Alf had already relayed to Edie what Nikki had told him in the hospital, so she'd had time to process it.

"I'm so sorry, my dear," Edie said, standing up and taking Nikki's hands. She looked at the bandage on Nikki's arm and her eyes filled with tears. "I can't believe my own daughter did that to you."

"Edie, it is not your fault," Nikki said firmly, enveloping the older woman in a hug. "Julia was just very confused and mentally unwell. She's getting the help she needs now."

Nikki knew that she was downplaying Julia's actions, but she didn't want to cause Edie any more upset.

"You're going to squeeze all the life out of the poor girl, Edie," Alf chuckled, and Edie released Nikki from the embrace.

"How are you, Alf?" Harry asked, crossing the room to stand on the other side of his bed.

"I'm not too bad," he replied, his voice a little rough, "All the better for having Edie here."

"Oh, shush," Edie reprimanded, but she sat back down and clasped Alf's hand tighter than ever, a smile playing on her lips.

"I take it you two worked things out then?" Nikki asked with a grin, gesturing to their entwined fingers.

"Life's too short," Alf shrugged. "Why waste any more time?"

"What about you two?" Edie said shrewdly. "If you're not really married, what are you?"

"Friends. Best friends," Harry said. "For a long time."

"And now?"

Nikki stood beside Harry, taking his hand and looking up at him. "Now ... now we're everything I thought I'd never have."

Running his thumb gently across her jaw, Harry smiled down at her.

"Well, the fact that we all completely believed you should tell you something," Edie pointed out. "What you told me was true, wasn't it, Nikki?"

Confused, Nikki asked, "What did I tell you?"

"You said Harry was 'breathtaking'. You truly meant that, didn't you? Even then, when you weren't together."

Blushing slightly as Harry chuckled, Nikki said, "I guess I did."

**. . .**

Nikki awoke earlier than usual the next morning; the wintry sun had not yet risen and the bedroom was in darkness. Beside her, sprawled out on his back and taking up most of the bed, was Harry, clearly still fast asleep. It was quiet, peaceful, and Nikki allowed her mind to wander to the revelation that Harry had been considering leaving – again. She'd been trying not to think too much about it since he had finally told her the evening before last, but it kept niggling at her. So many times she had come close to losing him to offers from elsewhere. But each time he had stayed, hadn't he? Maybe he had been right when he'd told her that it was she who stopped him going, and maybe he had also been right when he insisted that that wasn't a bad thing. It was his decision after all; it wasn't like she had even known about the offer to persuade him to refuse it, he had done that of his own accord. Besides, she was so glad that he had turned it down that she could hardly hold it against him.

Realising that after her lack of sleep recently she couldn't afford to miss any more, Nikki settled down against Harry, who stirred and rolled onto his side so that he could wrap his arms around her. Smiling, she closed her eyes.

When she blearily woke up again a couple of hours later, grey light was beginning to fill the room and the bed was deserted. It was a little past six and she knew that if she went back to sleep now she'd never get up for work. Yawning, she slipped out of bed and grabbed Harry's shirt, putting it on and buttoning it loosely. As she headed towards the lounge, the smell of cooking hit her. Leaning on the doorframe, Nikki observed Harry in the kitchen. He was standing in his pyjamas over the stove, prodding at something in a frying pan with a spatula.

"I can't remember the last time someone made me pancakes," she said lightly.

Jumping slightly, Harry spun around. He smiled when he saw her. "I think I made them right." He slid the pancakes from the pan onto two plates and placed them on the table. Slowly, she padded across the room towards him. Catching him grinning at her, she narrowed her eyes and said, "What?"

He shrugged. "It's nice seeing you first thing in the morning."

Self-consciously, she ran a hand through her tousled hair. "It's not like it's the first time. You did see me in my pyjamas every morning last week."

"Yes, but not like this. All ruffled and flushed and wearing my shirt," he said, stepping towards her. "It's a side of you that only I get to see. A side of you that I could get very used to seeing."

"I look a mess," she said.

He grinned, placing his hands on her hips. "I like it."

Now also smiling, Nikki looped her arms around Harry's neck and pressed her lips to his for a moment before taking a seat at the table, the plastic chair cold against her bare legs. They ate in a comfortable silence, which was only broken when they had finished and Harry's mobile phone buzzed from somewhere in the lounge. Muttering under his breath about how it had better not be a scene, he went to answer it. He appeared again a moment later with a triumphant smile on his face.

"What is it?" Nikki asked, taking the plates into the kitchen. Following her, Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his chin in the crook of her neck. "Harry," she giggled.

"Leo's got a meeting with the coroner and a load of other boring people this morning," he told her.

"And?" she said, although was fully aware of what he was suggesting.

"Let's go back to bed," he muttered, kissing her shoulder.

"Is that all you think about?" she tutted, a smirk on her lips.

"Not to _do_ anything!" he insisted immediately. "Doctor Alexander, how could you suggest that that's all I want you for?" He slapped a hand to his chest in mock-offence.

Laughing, Nikki said, "I do apologise. So, what did you mean?"

"Just ... let's, you know, lie there together. I like being curled up with you," he said, almost shyly.

Turning around in his arms so that she could place her hands on his shoulders and push him away slightly, Nikki observed him through narrowed eyes.

"Harry Cunningham, have you gone soft in your old age?" she asked seriously.

" you ever thought that maybe it's your fault if I have?" he rebuked, smiling at her.

A minute later and they were indeed wrapped around each other in bed, Nikki still wearing Harry's shirt.

"I wanted to tell you something the other night," Nikki said quietly, fiddling with the bottom hem of Harry's t-shirt. "But I think you were asleep and therefore didn't hear me."

"Usual then," he chuckled, running a hand through her hair. "What did you want to say?"

Biting her lip nervously, Nikki took a deep breath and said, "I told you that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

There was silence for a moment and a wave of panic washed over Nikki, but then Harry said, "Well, it's a good job I want to spend the rest of my life with you too, or things could get awkward very quickly."

With a giggle, Nikki removed her head from Harry's chest so that she could kiss him.

"Two weeks ago we were stuck at a stalemate; neither one of us willing to admit what was staring both of us in the face," Harry said, slightly bemusedly. "Now look at us."

"Well, I guess pretending to be married made us realise just what we were missing out on. What we were denying, even to ourselves," Nikki countered.

Smiling at her, Harry said, "I guess it did."

* * *

><p><strong>Final chapter, guuuyz. I'm not completely happy with it, but it's been so long since I updated that I decided to just go with it. <strong>

**A MASSIVE thank you to everyone who has reviewed this. Far too many of you to name, but I love you all so very much. It's the positive feedback that keeps me writing. This goes for all my one-shots and everything. Virtual hugs all round. :)**

**I also have some ideas for a couple of one-shots floating around, so I'm sure they'll be cropping up soon. **

**LOVE.**

**xxxxxxxxxx**


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